Senior Legal Counsel Employment- Part Time

Helping over ten million people around the world manage their savings, retirement plans and life insurance requires a lot of people behind the scenes.  It’s up to us in L&G Group functions – which includes our tech and digital teams, Group Finance, HR, Risk and Corporate Affairs – to provide the essential support services that all areas of the business need, here in the UK and overseas. Simply put, we enable everyone at Legal & General to do what they do best. That means we’re helping to improve our customers’ lives and contributing to the success of the business every day.  

We’re recruiting for a part time Senior Legal Counsel  to join our Group Functions Legal Team. 

The role is to assist the Assistant General Counsel (People & Operations) in delivering top-tier employment law services to the L&G Group, both within the UK and globally. The incumbent will provide routine employment law advice to HR and business managers throughout the Group, ensuring that the business's objectives are met while maintaining a uniform corporate strategy and reducing significant legal risks.

What you'll be doing:

• To offer employment legal advice to all L&G business divisions to ensure:

a) the Group’s strategic and commercial objectives are, where possible, furthered;

b) a proper account is taken of material legal risks identified and the Group’s position is mitigated and protected;

c) compliance with relevant legislation and regulation; and

d) all corporate governance aspects are considered.

• To provide employment law advice to:

a) HR teams and business managers (as appropriate) across the Group in relation to day to day employment matters such as policies and procedures, sickness absence, flexible working requests, performance and conduct issues, grievances, appeals, redundancies and restructures;

b) HR teams and the business in relation to complex legal matters such as discrimination, equal pay, holiday pay and working time and changing contractual terms;

c) HR teams and the business in relation to senior exits and settlement agreements;

d) HR teams, Group Compliance and the business in relation to benefits including pensions (with external advice where appropriate), share plans and remuneration (including compliance with Regulatory obligations such as the Remuneration Code);

e) HR teams, Group Procurement and the business in relation to TUPE including first and second generation outsourcing, insourcing and business sales and acquisitions;

f) The business, Recruitment and HR in relation to restraint of trade issues both on commencement and termination of employment;

g) HR and the business (as appropriate) in relation to immigration issues and obligations including sponsor licence management, visa applications, business travel, overseas remote working (with external advice where appropriate);

h) HR, the business and Group Legal colleagues in relation to the planning and execution of corporate transactions, including assisting with due diligence where relevant;

i) The Employment Relations team, HR and the business in relation to Trade Union issues;

j) HR teams and the business (as appropriate) in relation to Group transformation projects (for example, previous projects include IR35, International HR and Future of Work); and

k) The business and HR in relation to international labour issues (seeking local advice where appropriate).

• To effectively manage employment law litigation, it is crucial to minimize material legal and reputational risks while fostering a culture that is viewed as strong and does not compensate for failure
• The role involves aiding the Assistant General Counsel (People & Operations) in identifying and reporting matters of strategic, reputational, or significant financial importance to the Group General Counsel
• Managing external legal fees is crucial to minimize business expenses, and overseeing external legal counsel is essential to ensure the provision of sound and commercially beneficial advice to the company
• To guarantee proper horizon scanning of legal and regulatory developments, it is crucial to advise the business in a timely and suitable manner
• To offer training and guidance to HR personnel as needed, ensuring they are prepared to handle complex issues, topics of interest, and areas of concern for the business
• To ensure the design and implementation of HR policies gives sufficient emphasis that the fair treatment of customers and employees as is central to our corporate culture

Who we're looking for:

• England & Wales qualified solicitor (or a solicitor or attorney qualified in another jurisdiction)
• Experience of working in-house in financial services would be desirable
• Detailed knowledge of the relevant statutory, regulatory and common employment law applicable to a major financial services group
• An awareness of legislative and best practice change and its applicability to a financial services organisation such as Legal & General Group PLC
• Competent in use of IT systems such as Microsoft Word
• We would envisage the role being suitable for an individual who has circa 5+ years’ post qualification experience. Please note this is a guide only and we would be willing to consider applications from individuals with different levels of post qualification experience.
• The role is envisaged to be a part-time time role although we are happy to consider the role on a full-time basis.

Whatever your role, we reward performance and behaviour with a package that looks after all the things that are important to you. Here are some of the benefits we offer: 

• The opportunity to participate in our annual, performance-related bonus plan and valuable share schemes  
• 12% Car Allowance
• Generous pension contribution  
• Life assurance   
• Private medical insurance (permanent employees only) 
• At least 30 days holiday, plus public holidays, 26 days after 2 years’ service. There’s also the option to buy and sell holiday 
• Competitive family leave 
• Participate in our electric car scheme, which offers employees the option to hire a brand-new electric car through tax efficient salary sacrifice 
• There are the many discounts we offer – both for our own products and at a range of high street stores and online   
• In 2023, some of our workspaces were redesigned. Our offices are great spaces to connect and collaborate and have your wellbeing at the heart

Legal & General is a leading financial services organisation, named Britain’s Most Admired Company in 2023, for the second year running. Rated top in our sector and top for inspirational leadership, we have a strong heritage and an exciting future.  

We’re one of the world's largest asset managers, homebuilders, pension providers and insurers. Connecting to form a unique business model which drives value for our customers and society. And enabling our people to create impact through work that is meaningful and valued.  

If you join us, you’ll be part of a welcoming, inclusive culture, with opportunities to collaborate with people of diverse backgrounds, views, and experiences. Guided by leaders with integrity who care about your future and wellbeing. Empowered through initiatives which support people to develop their careers and excel.  

We strive to be open, mindful, and inclusive, so are always willing to discussing flexible working arrangements and reasonable accommodations for candidates with specific needs. It doesn’t matter if you don’t meet every single criterion in this advert. Instead, think about what you excel at and what else you can bring in terms of strengths, potential and connection to our purpose. 

If you’re open to find out more, we'd love to hear from you.