Employment Counsel – Dispute Resolution, UK & ROI

Reporting to

Head of Legal – Dispute Resolution, UK & ROI

Location

Southampton The role will also involve regular (typically monthly) travel from the UK to the Group’s office in Guernsey

Key internal relationships

Building strong relationships and trust with stakeholders across the business, particularly within the Retail, HR and ER teams, providing detailed legal advice and guidance on a broad range of employment law matters

Key external relationships

UK Legal Advisors

Working patterns/hours

37.5 hours a week, Monday to Friday

Date updated:

8 June 2021

Role summary

Working as part of a small team within Specsavers Legal department, providing detailed legal advice and guidance on the full spectrum of employment law matters relating to the Group’s UK operations and Joint Venture businesses in the UK as well as its UK and Guernsey support offices.

The role

Principal accountabilities

Reporting to the Head of Legal – Dispute Resolution, working as part of a small team, providing detailed legal advice and guidance on a broad range of employment law matters relating to the Group’s UK operations and Joint Venture businesses in the UK as well as its UK and Guernsey support offices.

This includes:

• advising on and seeking resolution of the full range of contentious and non-contentious employment law matters in the UK e.g., unfair dismissal, discrimination, TUPE, contractual matters and family friendly leave
• advising on and seeking resolution of employment law matters in Guernsey
• reviewing and advising on HR investigations and internal reports
• managing and seeking resolution of tribunal claims in the UK and Guernsey
• drafting correspondence
• drafting, advising on and negotiating settlement agreements
• drafting and reviewing contracts, policies and consultancy agreements
• drafting company and/or shareholder resolutions/paperwork
• reviewing shareholders agreements
• assisting with regulatory (GOC and HCPC) matters in conjunction with the Group’s Professional Services team
• undertaking legal research
• liaising with external legal advisors and investigators as appropriate
• supporting projects as assigned

The individual

Essential skills include

• Employment law experience (both contentious and non-contentious), gained in either in private practice or in-house. The role holder will likely be a specialist employment lawyer, and must have a good working knowledge of, and experience of, UK employment law.
• Self-motivated and comfortable in a high growth company environment where lawyers are highly visible by the whole business and deal with personnel at all levels. A commercial approach to work and a commercial manner is essential in view of the fact that the legal team works closely with the Group’s Board and senior management.
• Clarity of thought and intellect to build credibility quickly with internal stakeholders. Commercially astute with an ability to provide clear and succinct advice on complex issues to a non-legal audience.
• Natural team player, with good interpersonal and written communication skills. Non-hierarchical, hands on, focused to help deliver business priorities.

Desirable skills include

• In-house legal experience.
• Tribunal advocacy experience.
• Experience of advising on and seeking to resolve commercial (contractual) disputes, gained in either in private practice or in-house
• Experience of advising upon shareholder disputes and claims under the UK Companies Act
• Exposure to retail, healthcare or fast-moving consumer goods businesses
• Experience in UK joint venture and/or franchising business
• Exposure to ROI employment law and practice
• Exposure to Guernsey employment law and practice

Behaviours

FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER

We always consider and act in the best interests of the customer

• Have a ‘customer first’ attitude
• Constantly seek ways to improve our service and wow the customer
• Understand that everything we do has an impact – direct or indirect – on the end customer
• Recognise how my role and the roles of others make a difference to the customer experience
• Understand the challenges of our people, stores and partners
• Build strong relationships with customers, turning them into ambassadors

SUPPORT THE PARTNERSHIP

We work with our partners to protect our brand and grow the business

• Stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners - in it together - to drive our business forward
•  Pull out all the stops to get the best results
•  Respect our partners and understand the challenges they face
•  Act on feedback to strengthen the partnership
•  Deliver on our promises

ACT AS ONE TEAM

We work for one company and support each other to reach our goals

• Have a genuine concern for others and a willingness to help
• Pull together to deliver results
• Consider the impact of what we do on other people and the business
• Respect others’ views, challenge where necessary and offer our own ideas
• Value what we all contribute to the business
• Be down to earth, open and honest

MAKE IT HAPPEN

We take accountability to see things through and get the job done

• Work with drive and passion, and go the extra mile 
• Take ownership for delivering plans and meeting our objectives
• Celebrate success and never be satisfied
• Involve the right people at the right time to get results - and keep it simple
• Raise the bar and be creative to stay ahead
• Deliver more for less, conscious of cost

UNDERSTAND OUR BUSINESS

We understand how Specsavers operates and what makes us unique

• Respect our history and where it all began
• Get to know our products and services, spending time in store
• Act as ambassadors for the brand
• Seek to understand, ask questions and be curious about what we do
• Embrace and adapt to change as part of our fast-paced business
• We understand the importance of giving back to and working with our  local community

LEADING & MANAGING

As leaders and managers we recognise that we are here to enable others to be successful

• Live the values and behaviours, lead by example
• Set a clear vision and direction, help people understand their role, what’s expected and how they fit in
• Build trust with our teams through honest, stretching conversations, hold ourselves and others accountable for delivering quality results, being cost conscious and growing the business
• Treat everyone equally and recognise people for a job well done
• Support the development of our teams and ourselves, invest time in coaching and in developing talent for the future needs of Specsavers
• Be open and approachable, great communicators who pay attention to the views and opinions of everyone in the team
• Actively encourage our teams to work with others and build effective relationships
• Help our teams develop a broader understanding of the business and support them through change