Employment - Principal Associate

Job title

Principal Associate

Department

Business Services – Employment team

Location

Brierley Hill,West Midlands / Edinburgh, Scotland

Our Purpose

To forge long-term relationships that have a positive impact on our people, our clients, our business partners, and our community.

Our Commitment to Our People

We do not think there is a magic formula to the Higgs culture. The key is to listen to and respect our people. If we take care of our people and our people take care of our clients, then everything we want as a firm will take care of itself. We are friendly and open to new ideas.

Our Core Values

Higgs core values are “CLEAR” – Care, Legacy, Excellence, Authenticity, Relationships

Role Purpose

To be an integral part of the experienced employment team, assisting in all aspects of the team’s matters by providing professional and proactive advisory, consultancy and legal representation services to existing and prospective clients.

Key Responsibilities

• Working with the employment team on a variety of complex employee relations and employment tribunal cases.

• Providing proactive, commercial and tailored employment law and HR advice to clients and prospects

• Delivering bespoke training to clients in employee relations, best practice and risk avoidance.

• Building relationships with the firm’s clients, business partners and internal and external stakeholders.

• Working closely within the Business Services Department to assist on employment aspects of mergers, acquisitions, franchises and insolvencies.

• Involvement in the business development and promotion of the firm and team, in particular working alongside the team trainee to produce a monthly newsletter and contributing to seminars and webinars delivered by the team.

Person Specification

• Demonstrates efficient and commercially aware practice, with an ability to recognise sector developments and adjust approach to meet evolving client needs.

• A proven ability to understand what matters to stakeholders and strengthen relationships.
• A people centered approach to identify opportunities and contribute to the firm’s success through collaborative engagement.

• Ability to model constructive behaviours, support colleagues and help create a clear sense of direction through good judgement and positive influence

• Ability to manage complex and competing demands with confidence, provide clear and reasoned guidance, and build effective working relationships with key stakeholders across the business.

• Shows a clear understanding of financial hygiene and contributes to achieving team and individual performance goals.  

Technical Know How

Experience of employment law issues including unfair dismissal, redundancy, TUPE and discrimination.

• Extensive Employment tribunal case management, experience of managing cases from inception to conclusion.
• Advocacy experience
• Drafting employment contracts, service agreements, employment policies and handbooks
• Proficient user of core business and legal systems
• Excellent understanding of data security, confidentiality and risk
• Adopts relevant tools and stays informed about new technologies

What We Offer You

We offer more than just a job. Our benefits reflect our commitment to your development, wellbeing and work-life balance. Click here to discover more.

Higgs offers hybrid working wherever possible. Our Higgs’ Best FIT (flexible, inclusive, together) principles are designed to ensure that people can complete their best work from the most appropriate location. If you are looking to work flexibly then let us know and we will do what we can to accommodate your request.

We also encourage a ‘dress for your diary’ approach which means dressing in a manner appropriate for your schedule or the specific appointments you have on any given day.

Equal Opportunities

Higgs LLP is proud to be a signatory of The Law Society’s Diversity, Inclusion Charter and a Disability Confident Committed Employer. These commitments reflect our dedication to building a workplace that is inclusive, accessible, and welcoming to all. We actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and identities.

As part of our Disability Confident commitment, we offer a guaranteed interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role and choose to opt into the Disability Confident Interview Scheme.

We are also committed to ensuring that all applicants can fully participate in the recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments, please let us know by contacting us at recruitment@higgsllp.co.uk

We recognise that inclusion is an ongoing journey, and we regularly review and publish our diversity data, which can be accessed here.

People Driven. Legal Excellence.