Job title: Legal Counsel - Employment Law – 12 month fixed-term contract Location : Reading, Crawley or Bristol (hybrid working arrangement) Are you an experienced Barrister or Solicitor with proven experience of employment law, looking for your next opportunity? Then look no further… What the role has to offer: An exciting opportunity has arisen for an employment lawyer to join our Employment Law team within the UK Legal function. This is a hybrid role, which will be based at a Thales site, but with the ability to also work from home. Proximity to Thales sites in Reading, Crawley or Bristol is required. Reporting to Head of Employment Law, the job-holder will work very closely with HR and the business. This is an important role, supporting all Thales businesses in the UK, advising on a wide range of employment matters, both contentious and non-contentious. This is a perfect role for someone who is looking for a varied and interesting workload, and who is used to adopting a commercial and risk-based approach to employment law issues. Core Benefits: On offer is a competitive salary and benefits package, which includes; Performance-related bonus Half day every Friday, usually finishing around 13:00pm 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) plus opportunity to buy up to 40 hours/year (pro rata) 24 hours volunteering paid for Private healthcare (grade dependent) Pension scheme Life cover 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app Employee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers Gym membership discounts Key responsibilities: Providing ad hoc advice to HR on a wide range of employment issues including complex grievances and disciplinary / performance processes, alleged discrimination, redundancies and senior exits Tribunal claims: Running own cases Leading negotiation strategies for settlement Conducting preliminary hearings Restructuring, Commercial / Bid support and M&A - advising on the employment law aspects of: Restructuring projects TUPE advice on insourcing/outsourcing of services and Commercial contracts M&A activity Change programmes Training - preparing and presenting training materials (presentations, case studies, workshops etc. Industrial relations - advising on potential industrial relation disputes and trade union issues Immigration – supporting on immigration matters About you: Barrister or Solicitor Employment law experience (3 years’ PQE), ideally having trained and qualified with a reputable law firm. In-house experience is desirable Ability to advise the businesses from both a legal and commercial standpoint, and offer pragmatic solutions Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with and influence stakeholders at different levels of the organisation Security Clearance statement: Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions. This role requires Security Clearance (SC). It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment. Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance. To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years. In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years’ residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.