Supervising Lawyer
Working Families
- Closing: 5:30pm, 6th Jan 2025 GMT
Job Description
Role Overview
We are looking for an employment lawyer with at least 2 PQE to join our team as a supervising solicitor to advise parents and carers on employment law as well as having a supervisory role in the team.
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 benefits and supervise the Rights and Benefits Advisers. Help shape the law in this area by supporting judicial interventions, collaborate with Working Families policy team by providing information and guidance informed by our service users. Deputise for the Head of Legal Advice Services as required.
Legal Advice Service
Provide relevant and correct advice and guidance to parents and carers on employment rights including:
o Maternity, adoption, shared parental leave
o Discrimination, dismissals, and redundancy
o Emergency and parental leave
o In-work benefits and help with childcare costs
o Flexible working
o Imposed change and breach of contract
o Issues arising for parents and carers of disabled dependants
o Settlement agreements and employment tribunal processes
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
Deputising for Head of LAS during 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 on Trello
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
Other
Comply with, and fully participate in, all Working Families policies and processes
Represent Working Families externally, as required
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
Removing bias from the hiring process
Removing bias from the hiring process
- Your application will be anonymously reviewed by our hiring team to ensure fairness
- You’ll need a CV/résumé, but it’ll only be considered if you score well on the anonymous review