Associate / Senior Associate

Birketts LLP; Bristol; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Long service leave

Private healthcare

Profit share and bonus scheme

Salary sacrifice (pensions)

Job summary

Birketts LLP seeks an experienced Employment Associate to join our Employment Team. You will advise on transactional and contentious employment matters for national and international clients, including mergers, TUPE, redundancies and whistleblowing investigations.

You’ll draft contracts and policies, handle complex negotiations, and contribute to business development while delivering excellent client service in a hybrid working model.

Qualifications

• 3-6 years PQE in Employment law or a closely related field.
• Strong legal and commercial judgement with proven drafting ability.
• Ability to manage budgets, timesheets and client expectations.

Responsibilities

• Advising large employer clients on day-to-day HR and employment law issues.
• Managing Employment Tribunal litigation including unfair dismissal and discrimination.
• Handling workplace investigations and disciplinary matters.
• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating employment contracts and service agreements.
• Advising on restrictive covenants, bonuses and incentive plans.
• Supporting business development through events and client relationships.
• Providing high-quality client service with minimal supervision.

Skills

Employment law

HR advisory

Mergers & Acquisitions

TUPE transfers

Workplace investigations

Restrictive covenants

Contract drafting

Client relations

Education

PQE 3-6 years

Senior Associate PQE 6+

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

Time recording software

Case management

Outlook

Digital dictation

Job description

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals and over 600 staff based in Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: Real Estate, Corporate Services, Dispute Resolution and Private Client.

We are defined by our Next Level Law proposition. We work with our clients as a proactive partner, horizon scanning and thinking ahead to the changes, challenges or opportunities that they may face.

Next Level Law is also applied to our people. Our collegiate culture means everyone is encouraged to achieve their next level in everything they do. RollOnFriday recently ranked us as the 6th best law firm to work at in 2026.

With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 45% of our partnership.

The team you will join

Our Employment Team sits within the wider Corporate Division. The team specialise in all aspects of employment law facing employers and HR professionals - from everyday operational challenges through to advising on strategic issues.

The team currently comprises of specialist qualified employment law solicitors, including partners, working across all offices, making us one of the larger employment teams across the East and South. We have the strength and depth of expertise to ensure we deliver the service you would expect in respect of technical quality, practical approach, and timeliness of advice.

Birketts’ Employment Team has experience in all areas of contentious and non-contentious employment law matters, representing clients from a broad range of public and private organisations as well as senior executives. We are proud to act for sector leading clients nationwide and some important and high-profile businesses and institutions across a number of key sectors.

Our employment advice is supplemented by a well-developed in-house employment client training offering (known as Shaping Excellence), an immigration team, an employee incentives group and Resolve, which consists of an HR consultancy service, a workplace investigations service and a team of accredited mediators.

The work you will be doing

Providing employment law support on corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, TUPE transfers, outsourcing projects and business reorganisations.

Advising large employer clients (250+ employees) on day-to-day HR and employment law issues, workforce management and strategic people-related projects.

Managing Employment Tribunal litigation, including unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing, breach of contract and other workplace claims.

Advising on workplace investigations, including grievances, disciplinary matters, whistleblowing complaints and allegations of misconduct.

Advising on the design, implementation and management of whistleblowing procedures, investigations and related regulatory and governance issues.

Advising on disciplinary, grievance, capability, performance management, restructuring and redundancy processes.

Acting for senior executives in relation to recruitment, service agreements, remuneration arrangements, exits, boardroom disputes and negotiated departures.

Drafting, reviewing and negotiating employment contracts, executive service agreements, bonus arrangements, incentive plans and workplace policies.

Advising on restrictive covenants, confidentiality obligations, team moves and the protection of business interests, including enforcement action where appropriate.

Advising multinational organisations on international employment law issues, including cross-border employment matters, global workforce projects, international restructurings and the coordination of advice from overseas counsel.

Conducting settlement negotiations and drafting settlement agreements on behalf of employers.

Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.

What we are looking for

Birketts has designed a 'Talent Management Framework' which provides a career structure that will help us develop,retainand reward talented people. As an Associate, we typically expect candidates to have between 3-6 years PQE. As a Senior Associate, we typically expect candidates to have a minimum of 6 years PQE.

Applies strong legal and commercial judgement,researchesprecedents effectively, and drafts complex documents withappropriate seniorguidance

Manages time recording, billingsupportand workload efficiently to meet financial targets and maximise fee recovery

Actively supports business development through events, pitches and networking, building profile andidentifyingopportunities via firm and client relationships

Delivers high-quality client service with minimal supervision, providingtimely,accurateadvice anddemonstratingstrong understanding of client needs and priorities

Manages time reliably, communicates proactively, embraces feedback, anddemonstratesa collaborative, adaptable and positive “can - do” approach

Consistently meets compliance requirements by completing reviews and reports on time, adhering to risk management best practices, understandingLexcelstandards, and completing all mandatory training

Strong attention to detail to produce work documentation which is consistently of a high standard

Professional integrity and a commitment to providing excellent client service

To be competent in using Microsoft Word, Excel, time recording software, case management,Outlookand digital dictation

Any information provided in relation to PQE should be used for guidance only and will not be determinative in the recruitment decision. Applicants will be considered on their individual merits.

Hybrid Working

Birketts is a flexible business which has embraced a hybrid working model where our colleagues enjoy a mix of home and office working. This role attracts a split of 60% office days and 40% working from home days per week.

We welcome applications from people looking for flexible, agile, and part-time roles and we are happy to explore your preferred working patterns as part of your application.

As a Birketts colleague, you will be eligible to receive a wide range of benefits:

• Long Service holiday award – 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
• Private Healthcare with BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
• Staff Profit Share and Individual Performance Bonus Scheme
• Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance

At Birketts, our culture is driven by ambition and a commitment to positively impact all the communities we serve. We are dedicated to the success, development, and wellbeing of our colleagues, helping them achieve their goals and seize the opportunities that come with our growth.

Birketts is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is unequivocal: we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.

If you require this advert in an accessible format, please visithttps://diversityjobsgroup.com/company/birketts/

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

At Birketts, we recognise the evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal profession and recruitment. We welcome innovation and understand that candidates may use AI tools to support their job applications. However, we expect all applicants to use AI responsibly and ethically.

Our expectations regarding AI use in applications:

• Your application should reflect your own voice, experiences, and insights. AI may assist in structuring or refining your responses, but it must not replace your personal input.
• Do not use AI to misrepresent your qualifications, experiences, or skills. Any form of exaggeration or fabrication may result in rejection from the process.
• If you have used AI tools to assist with your application, be prepared to discuss how and why you used them during the interview process.
• Do not submit content generated by AI tools that may include personal or sensitive data not intended for public disclosure.
• AI-generated content should be reviewed and edited by you to ensure accuracy, relevance, and alignment with the role and our firm’s values.

We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment practices. The use of AI should enhance, not compromise, your application. We encourage candidates to demonstrate critical thinking, commercial awareness, and a genuine interest in our firm.

If you have any questions about our expectations or the use of AI in your application, please contact our Talent Acquisition Team [e-mail]