People & Reward Associate

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Brussel Hoofdstad; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Brussels is seeking a mid-level associate for its People and Reward practice. You will advise global employers on Belgian and cross-border employment, pensions, benefits and data privacy issues within a leading international team.

The role involves coordinating multi-jurisdictional projects, drafting transactional documents, and advising on executive remuneration and stock options.

Qualifications

• Ambitious and highly motivated lawyer with 2–5 years of relevant experience.
• Belgian law degree with excellent academic records; post-graduate asset encouraged.
• Excellent communication, proactive and autonomous with client service focus.

Responsibilities

• Advise Belgian and cross-border employment matters for domestic and international clients.
• Manage and coordinate multi-jurisdictional projects across the firm's global network.
• Assist on due diligence, drafting transactional docs and employment-related issues in M&A.
• Advise on executive remuneration, appointments and severance packages.
• Structure stock options, equity incentives and employee benefit schemes.
• Guide clients through collective consultations, restructurings and Works Councils.
• Deliver strategic advice on the modern workplace, flexible policies and investigations.
• Handle HR data privacy issues and GDPR compliance; support client pitches.

Skills

Legal research

Client management

Communication skills

Autonomy

English

Dutch

French (good)

Education

Belgian law degree

Post-graduate degree in employment/labour law

Tools

Legal tech

AI tools

Job description

Freshfields is looking for an ambitious mid-level associate to join its Brussels’s People and Reward practice. In this role, you will advise global employers on a range of Belgian and international employment, pensions, benefits and data privacy issues. The firm boasts a leading international employment practice, known as People and Reward, with teams spread across Asia, Europe and the US.

Key activities

• - Advisinginternational and domestic clients on a wide range of Belgian and cross-border employment matters;
• - Managingand coordinating multi-jurisdictional employment law projects across our global network;
• - Transactional work: due diligence exercises, drafting transactional documentation, advising on employment-related issues arising out of corporate transactions (transfer of undertaking, pensions, information and consultation);
• - Advisingon executive remuneration, senior appointments, departures, and severance packages;
• - Structuringand implementing employee stock option plans, equity incentives, and benefit schemes;
• - Guidingclients on collective consultations, restructuring projects, and European Works Councils;
• - Deliveringstrategic advice on the modern workplace, including flexible work policies, digitalisation, and internal investigations;
• - HandlingHR-related data privacy issues, GDPR compliance, and workplace data incidents;
• - Actively participatingin business development initiatives, client pitches, and know-how development.

Key requirements

• - We are seeking an ambitious and highly motivated lawyer with 2 to 5 years of relevant experience, preferably within the employment practice of a leading law firm.
• - In addition to your Belgian law degree (with excellent academic records), a post-graduate degree in employment, labour or social law is an asset.
• - You are creative, curious and rigorous, have excellent communication skills and are able to take on a high degree of responsibility and autonomy. You are also proactive and committed to providing an excellent service to clients.
• - You have a forward-looking mindset and are comfortable with (or eager to embrace and leverage) modern legal technology and Artificial Intelligence tools to enhance your daily work and client service.
• - You are fluent in English and Dutch, with a good command of French.

What we offer

• - The opportunity to work on a wide variety of challenging projects together with our People & Reward partner. You will also closely cooperate with other members of our Global M&A and Capital, Tax, Dispute Resolution, Antitrust and regulatory teams based in Brussels and across other Freshfields offices on multijurisdictional matters.
• - Our structured network that allows new legal developments to be shared rapidly among the teams, which is a real added value for our clients and for our lawyers.
• - Regular participation in international technical and personal skills trainings taking place in different parts of the world, bringing together lawyers from all around the network.