Tribunal Litigator

Home-based | Warrington, Sheffield or Gateshead hub – 1 day per week plus travel as required

Competitive salaries and excellent benefits including up to one day's paid leave each year to undertake volunteering opportunities

At Make UK
, we represent and champion the interests of UK manufacturing. With more than 130 years of experience, we work closely with businesses across the sector, providing expert support across employment law, HR, health & safety and skills.

Our Employment Law team is at the heart of that support, helping members navigate complex workplace issues and providing practical, commercially focused advice when they need it most.

We’re now looking for an experienced Employment Tribunal Litigator to join the team and take ownership of a varied caseload of contentious employment matters.

This is a hands-on litigation role where you’ll manage Employment Tribunal claims from pre-claim advice through to final hearing, advising employers on strategy, risk and potential outcomes along the way.

You’ll work with a broad range of employment matters, including discrimination, unfair dismissal, whistleblowing, redundancy, contractual disputes and worker status
, providing clear and pragmatic advice to clients who may not have a legal background.

You’ll also have the opportunity to develop your advocacy skills. Previous advocacy experience would be an advantage, but it isn’t essential – training and support will be available if this is an area you’d like to develop.

• Managing a caseload of Employment Tribunal claims from early advice through to final hearing
• Drafting pleadings, witness statements, case management documents and bundles
• Conducting advocacy at preliminary and, where appropriate, final hearings
• Liaising with ACAS and supporting settlement negotiations
• Managing disclosure, evidence preparation and litigation strategy
• Advising members on complex employment law issues, litigation risk and case strategy
• Drafting and reviewing employment contracts, policies, procedures and other employment documentation
• Providing employment law and employee relations advice to clients by telephone, in writing and in person
• Working closely with colleagues across HR, Legal and other Make UK teams
• Supporting member retention and recruitment through excellent client service
• Identifying opportunities to support members with additional fee-paying work
• Keeping your technical knowledge up to date through research and professional development

You’ll be an experienced employment lawyer with a strong grounding in Employment Tribunal litigation and the confidence to manage your own caseload.

• Qualification as a solicitor, barrister or FCILEx
  , or equivalent relevant experience
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law and tribunal procedure
• Excellent drafting, analytical and case management skills
• Strong negotiation skills and commercial awareness
• The ability to explain complex legal issues clearly and practically to non-lawyers
• Excellent organisation skills and the ability to prioritise a varied caseload
• A calm, client-focused approach and the ability to put people at ease
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• The ability to work collaboratively across a regional and national team
• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office and case management systems

Advocacy experience is desirable but not essential. If you have strong litigation experience and are keen to build your advocacy skills, we’ll support you to do so.

This is an opportunity to use your employment law expertise in a role where the advice you provide has a genuine impact on businesses and people across UK manufacturing.

You’ll work alongside experienced specialists across employment law, HR, health & safety and industry, giving you…