Role Overview

We are looking for an employment lawyer to join our team as a senior rights advisor (maternity cover) to advise parents and carers on employment law as well as having a supervisory role in the team.

We are looking for someone to join the team from the Autumn/Winter 2023 and anticipate this will be a fixed term role for maternity cover for up to one year.

This role will remain open to applications and will close once the post is filled. We will be inviting candidates to interview on a rolling basis.

Job Purpose

Working Families is the UK’s charity for working parents and carers. Our Legal Advice Service advises parents and carers on employment rights and in-work benefits through our comprehensive advice pages and free legal email and phone helpline and informs Working Families' research and campaigns which have shaped national policy in these areas. Working Families’ legal advice services (LAS) team works at the forefront of access to justice for parents and carers at work. Many parents and carers find that the ‘system’ – including employers’ approaches to flexible working, available in-work benefits, leave and entitlement to time off – doesn’t allow them to work and care and thrive. We want to change that.

Our award-winning free helpline individually advised over 1,700 parents and carers on their rights at work in the FY year 2022/2023 and over 1.3 million people via our comprehensive online advice pages. This ranges from advice on pregnancy, maternity and sex discrimination, unfair dismissals; negotiating flexible working; dealing with childcare emergencies; advice on maternity, adoption and shared parental leave and pay; redundancy. We also have specialist in-work benefits advisors in the team. Our team won the Law Society's In House Team of the Year Excellence in Law Award in 2021 for our work during the pandemic.

We also advised on the impact of Covid-19 during the pandemic, when we experienced a six-fold increase in the demand for our service. The purpose of your role within the legal advice team would be to help to equip the UK’s 13 million parents and carers with the tools they need to thrive in a system that often prevents them from doing so. If you have a strong commitment to justice, awareness of issues that parents and carers face and want to join a small team advising the UK’s parents and carers, we want to hear from you.

You will also help to shape the law in this area by collaborating with our policy team by providing information and guidance informed by our service users. You may be required to deputise for the Head of Legal Advice Services in the day to day running of the Legal Advice Service (along with the other Senior Rights Advisors) in the absence of the Head of Legal Advice Service.

Key Accountabilities

Advise parents and carers on employment law and help with supervision of the work of the more junior advisers. You may, in the absence of the Head of Legal Advice Services, be required to deputise in the day to day running of the LAS from time to time.

Legal Advice Service

Provide relevant and correct advice and guidance to parents and carers on employment rights including: Maternity, adoption, shared parental leave; Discrimination, dismissals, and redundancy; Emergency and parental leave; Flexible working; Imposed change and breach of contract; Issues arising for parents and carers of disabled dependants

Provide supervisory assistance to the team of rights advisors for the efficient and effective delivery of legal advice and practical guidance to parents and carers to the highest quality standards 

Develop and improve tools and processes for engaging LAS service users and engage with the Parents and Carers Advisory Panel

Keep abreast of changes in employment, financial or other relevant support for parents

Maintain and develop the LAS precedent bank

Updating and enriching of the advice pages of WF website and ensure content remains relevant and up to date

May be required to deputise for Head of LAS (HOL) in day to day running of the LAS during HOL absence.

Engage, liaise with, and provide training and feedback to existing pro bono volunteers

Oversee day to day management of the Pro Bono Advice platform and day to day management of the advice queries

Assist with the Working Families data collection and monitoring requirements of service users, advice records and volunteers

Liaise with external law firms for support with Legal Advice Service

Help maintain and develop the LAS precedent bank

Help with other projects from time to time to improve and increase the reach, impact, and efficiency of the Legal Advice Service, including reviewing our database/client recording processes

Stakeholders & Partners

Oversee and review the content of LAS newsletters  

Help to manage and build relationships with pro bono solicitors and firms 

Partial responsibility for management and engagement with LAS team and student volunteers

Provide outreach, training for parents and organisations and partnering of other organisations and represent WF at relevant stakeholder meetings

Liaise with the Marketing & Communications team, including dealing with media enquiries and checking for legal accuracy in communication outputs, help ensure Working Families is positioned as the leading voice on families, work, and work life balance

Assist with identifying policy, legal and strategic issues to develop policy relevant to employment legislation and collaborate with the Policy team on reports and consultations etc.  

Comply with LAS reporting requirements internally and externally

Provide information for fundraising applications and reports

Comply with, and fully participate in, all Working Families policies and processes

Represent Working Families externally, as require

Support and participate in fundraising activities for Working Families

Contribute to the wider Working Families team, undertaking any other reasonable duties as directed

Person Specification

Essential

Legal qualification as a solicitor or barrister with at least 2 years PQE specialising in employment law

Expertise in and experience of providing autonomous advice on employment law including discrimination and parental employment rights

Experience of providing telephone advice and/or email advice to members of the public providing people with practical solutions to questions and issues they are currently facing

Ability to explain and write clearly and in an accessible manner about complex issues

Ability to respond to callers in an empathetic and professional manner

Ability to identify own training and development needs and commitment to keeping up to date with all relevant changes in employment rights

Awareness of the social and political issues relevant to Working Families: including parental rights at work, work-life balance, affordability of childcare, disability, and benefits 

Ability to assist the policy team in wider policy work and government consultations on these issues 

Flexibility to adapt to working in a small team and the various demands not only of your specific role but also coming from the rest of the organisation 

Ability to set priorities and training needs and manage own workload 

Ability to manage a small team of advisers and engage with and/or supervise a wider team of volunteers as required

Desirable

• Broad knowledge of maternity, paternity and parental benefits and tax credits and workplace related maternity, paternity and parental rights and sex discrimination.

• Experience of using case management database to record advice

• Ability to identify policy issues arising from advice work