Short Description

Function: General Counsel

Reports to: Employment Law Lead

Set up: Hybrid

Why we need this role

We have a fantastic opportunity for an ambitious and talented employment lawyer to join our corporate law team, reporting to the Employment Law Lead who has responsibility for employment law globally.This role is a key contact point for the wider global HR function and will support the business on a range of employment law matters, including providing advice on complex, cross-functional, and multi-jurisdictional transformation projects supporting Colt’s business and HR priorities; managing legal and employee relations risk for the business; and supporting delivery against our strategic people priorities.We are interested in candidates who are available on a full-time basis. Ideally you will have in-house as well as private practice experience.

What you will do

• Engage with senior stakeholders including at the C-Suite level on employment law matters.Provide critical support and lead the employment law advice required on strategic projects both on a national and global level.
• Manage and advise on a wide range of strategic employment law risks and issues including: redundancy, performance, sickness absence, TUPE and compensation and benefits.
• Draft, advise on and negotiate, as required, a variety of employment-related agreements, including contracts of employment, settlement agreements and provide support on general commercial outsourcing and supplier contracts and corporate matters / transactional work.
• Advise on complex HR cases including; internal investigations, sickness absence, redundancy and disciplinary/grievance matters.
• Manage Acas pre-claim conciliation and employment litigation with the support of external counsel
• Review and advise on HR processes and policies, working closely with our local HR teams
• Partner with members of our broader Legal Team and other functional stakeholders as appropriate such as Reward, Tax, Procurement, Finance and Audit and our Data Protection Office.
• Proactively monitor upcoming changes in employment legislation, regulations, guidelines and industry best practice affecting Colt, ensuring they are tracked, analysed, evaluated and implemented timely, as required.
• Provide support and advice on Colt’s engagement with European and national work councils, and other employee representative bodies.
• Providing regular training and updates for HR stakeholders on employment law compliance.

What we're looking for

Typical tasks and responsibilities will include:

• Qualified solicitor in England and Wales with c.5-7 years of post-qualification experience (PQE).
• Experience of providing contentious and non-contentious employment legal advice to multi-national employer organisations, used to dealing directly with senior decision-makers.
• Experience supporting organisational design initiatives and restructures.
• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Exposure to employment law internationally.Strong commercial acumen with a solution-oriented approach.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and handle a varied workload effectively.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, capable of delivering difficult messages positively and working collaboratively.
• Clear and concise communication skills – confident in presenting to and advising key stakeholders.
• Flexibility and adaptability to meet deadlines and manage time efficiently.

It would be desirable:

• Experience in engaging with (and advising on) works council or union negotiations in Europe.
• Working knowledge of additional European languages.
• Experience of advising on employment law aspects of post-acquisition integration and harmonisation of terms and conditions.
• Experience of the telecoms/technology sector.
• Experience with advising on social plan or similar negotiations in multiple jurisdictions.