Location
Bristol, Leeds, London, Manchester
About The Job
Job summary
The Government Legal Department is the largest provider of legal services across government, working on high profile matters that are frequently scrutinised in Parliament and the media. Our work includes:
- Securing our economic and trade relationships
- Providing legal advice on policies
- Developing and drafting legislation
- Ensuring value from commercial contracts worth billions of pounds
- Providing the Civil Service’s employment law advice
We are at the heart of delivering the Government’s priorities and our success depends on our people.
GLD is a non-ministerial government department, sponsored by the Attorney General. We are headed by the Treasury Solicitor, our Permanent Secretary and employ nearly 3000 people, including over 2000 legal professionals. Our offices include London, Leeds, Bristol, Croydon and Manchester as well as overseas. We provide specialist legal services including Litigation, Employment and Commercial Law as well as advising most Government Departments on the policies and services they deliver.
GLD also depends on a range of vital corporate services. These are essential to the smooth and efficient running of the Department and provide the foundation to enable GLD to deliver outstanding legal services. Our corporate functions include Strategy, HR, Finance, Digital, Data and Technology, Communications, Security, Commercial and Project delivery.
Our vision is to be an outstanding legal organisation and a brilliant place to work where everyone can thrive and fulfil their potential.
This is an exciting time for GLD, with cutting edge legal work on global issues and a transformation agenda which is ensuring the Department exemplifies the Modern Civil Service .
To find out more about what we do visit the Government Legal Department’s webpage or have a look at this short film which showcases the breadth of work government lawyers and legal trainees are involved in.
About The Employment Group
The Employment Group provides employment advice and litigation services to all GLD clients, supporting a workforce of over 450,000 and underpinning the delivery of a vast range of public services.
Our work covers everything from Employment Tribunal claims and the conduct of complex multi-party litigation to advising on staff policies and terms and conditions, collective bargaining and departmental re-organisations. The interest and range of employment work undertaken is second to none – we handle litigation up to the Supreme Court and provide employment advice in the context of Ministers’ political and operational drivers and the unique constitutional position of the civil servants. Along the way we learn about the environment and conditions of the vast range of public servants and office holders, including prison officers, judicial officeholders, border force officers, the armed forces and other sector specialists as well as policy officials.
‘The interest and range of employment work undertaken is second to none’
The Group comprises around 135 employment lawyers. We have 8 legal teams, 6 in London, 1 in Leeds/Manchester and 1 in Bristol. We are supported by our Business Management Team, with colleagues based in both London and Leeds.
The Employment Group is a great place to work, with excellent resources, a tailored training programme and a strong culture of mutual support and collaboration. Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) is at the core of how we manage our people and teams.
The Role
This is an exciting opportunity to work in the Employment Group’s Industrial Relations Hub.
The Industrial Relations Hub is a group of specialist lawyers in the Employment Group advising across the Civil Service on industrial relations and trade union legal matters affecting Government departments themselves and the public services which Government is responsible for delivering. The IR work includes:
- Advising on day-to-day management of relationships with trade unions and the general industrial and employee relations issues that arise out of those relationships.
- Advising on collective bargaining in an environment where there is extremely high collective bargaining coverage, and where employment change and re-organisation programmes involve extensive collective bargaining.
- Advising on the legal aspects of industrial relations in the particular context of employment in the Civil Service and the unique constitutional position of Civil Servants, and in public services where the industrial relations landscape itself is unique, such as in prisons.
- Advising on all facets and stages of industrial action and industrial disputes, regarding both the application of the law and the consideration of how that advice fits with wider Government strategy and policy aims.
- Liaising with colleagues across GLD to assist on industrial relations matters outside those arising for the Civil Service as employer, such as industrial relations legislation, and challenges brought by trade unions and their members to legislation and policy decisions.
Whilst the role is focused on IR, you will also have the opportunity to do more general advisory work and litigation, including supervision of litigation. You will be part of a collaborative and friendly team who work closely together to provide this specialist advice to clients and our colleagues in the Employment Group. The level of responsibility is significant, with a high degree of exposure to senior Civil Service officials and Ministers. The work is high-profile and wide-ranging, with the team regularly involved in matters of legal complexity and public interest.
Person specification
Behaviours
Below are details of the Success Profiles that make up this role.
- Creating regular opportunities for colleagues, stakeholders and delivery partners to help improve the quality of
- Communicating with others in a clear, honest and enthusiastic way in order to build
- Communicating and Influencing
- Leadership
- Demonstrating a positive customer service by understanding the complexity and diversity of customer needs and
- Making Effective Decisions
- Promoting diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity, respecting difference and external
- Presenting reasonable conclusions from a wide range of complex and sometimes incomplete
- Welcoming and responding to views and challenges from others.
- Remaining open-minded and impartial in discussions, whilst respecting the diverse interests and opinions of
- Explaining complex issues in a way that is easy to understand.
- Making decisions confidently even when details are unclear or if they prove to be
- Clarifying your own understanding and stakeholder needs and expectations, before making
- Managing a Quality Service
- Inspiring and motivating others to be fully engaged in their work and dedicated to their
- Proactively managing risks and identifying
Technical
- Legal Professional Skills
- A good understanding of how to approach legal risk.
- An ability to approach legal issues applying sound analysis, secure legal research and reliable legal
- A sound understanding of industrial relations or trade union legal matters.
- An ability to think strategically and creatively, see legal issues in their wider context and advise
Essential Criteria
Experience and/or knowledge or industrial relations and trade union legal matters.
For further information about Civil Service recruitment processes and Success profiles, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles
Qualifications – Minimum Eligibility Criteria
Academic and Professional
Applicants
should have a minimum of a 2:1 honours degree in their first degree (in any subject). Where an applicant holds an overseas degree qualification this should be equivalent to a 2.1 degree. GLD will consider applicants who do not have a 2.1 degree but only where satisfactory evidence of equivalent high level academic and/or professional achievement can be provided (e.g., via relevant experience and results achieved for the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/CPE, Legal Practice Course (LPC), Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC).
Applicants must be qualified to practise as a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales however, we also accept applications from overseas qualified candidates. You must have completed a training contract/pupillage/qualifying employment or have been exempted from this by the Law Society, the Bar Council or CILEx.
Please note that candidates cannot apply more than 3 months before their qualification date.
Professional entry criteria for Chartered Legal Executives (i.e., Fellows): Chartered Legal Executives are eligible to apply where (i) a Qualifying Law Degree (QLD) is held; or (ii) the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/CPE has been completed; or (iii) where exams have been passed (i.e. a score of 50% or above achieved), at CILEx Level 6*, in all of the following seven foundation subjects in law:
- Land Law
- Equity and Trusts Law
- Law of Tort
- European Union Law
- Contract Law
- Public Law
- Note: There are specific requirements relating to academic achievement in the CILEx Level 6 exams where these are being used to demonstrate 2.1 degree equivalence as set out
- Criminal Law
Chartered Legal Executives should note that GLD will be willing to accept an, overall, average score of 65% or above across exams passed in the seven foundation subjects in law (where studied at CILEx Level 6) as demonstrating 2.1 degree equivalence (where a 2.1 degree is not held).
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £65,647, Government Legal Department contributes £16,834 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- An environment with flexible working options
- A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
- Learning and development tailored to your role
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Selection Process
After the closing date, the appointing panel shall assess candidates’ suitability for the role based on evidence provided in their application.
Application
Applicants must apply online via our civil service Job site; hard copy applications will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances:
The application stage will require you to complete an online career history and write a personal statement covering the following elements of the Person Specification/Essential Criteria set out above that will be scored at sift:
- Technical: Legal Professional Skills
- Leadership
- Managing a Quality Service
Please note, the personal statement on Civil Service Jobs allows a maximum word limit of 1250 words. Any applications exceeding 1250 words may not be considered.
Your application should demonstrate how you meet the above criteria for the post, with relevant examples.
It will not be sufficient to reiterate the criteria; you are expected to illustrate how you have met the requirements.
Please note: It is the individual’s responsibility to ensure supporting documents are uploaded to CS Jobs and are submitted as part of the application. If documents are missing and you have not informed us as to why then your application may be rejected at this stage as it will be an incomplete submission.
Your application will be sifted by a GLD panel.
Please also ensure on your application that a location preference has been stated for either
London, Bristol, Leeds or Manchester . If not stated this will be requested at interview.
Interview
Should you be successful in being invited to interview, you will be assessed on your performance in all essential criteria as listed in the Person Specification.
This will include a written exercise on a legal topic to be completed 1 – 2 weeks before your interview. You will also be asked to conduct a 5-minute oral presentation at interview, based on that written exercise, which will assess
Legal Professional Skills and Communicating and Influencing. In addition to this you will be asked scenario and strength-based questions. Prior to the interview candidates will give time to prepare and further information.
- Technical: Legal Professional Skills
- Behaviour: Communicating and Influencing
- Behaviour: Making Effective Decisions
- Behaviour: Managing a Quality Service
- Behaviour: Leadership
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview. Interviews will probably take place remotely via video conference, full details of the interview format will be provided to shortlisted candidates prior to interview.
Written Exercise
If you are successful at sift, you will be asked to complete a written exercise as part of the interview process. Further details will be made available once you have reached this stage. This will be used to assess your
Technical: Legal Professional Skills and the
Behaviour of Communicating and Influencing as set out in the Person Specification/Essential Criteria.
Offer
Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible after the final interview.
We appoint in strict order of merit. If you meet the minimum criteria for this position but are not successful for a post, you will be placed on the reserve list for up to 12 months. We then may contact you to see if you are interested in a post at the same, or a lower grade, in GLD should one arise.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality Requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- UK nationals
- Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- Certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
- Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window) .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
