Employment Senior Associate

VWV Law; Watford; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Structured career development

Inclusive work environment

Learning Academy programs

Job summary

A leading UK law firm in Watford is seeking an Associate to join their employment law team. The role involves advising clients on various employment law matters, including employee relations and tribunal defenses. The firm supports a hybrid working model, requiring office attendance 2–3 days per week to enhance collaborative opportunities. Candidates should have fee-earning experience in both contentious and non-contentious matters. This role offers a supportive, inclusive environment with structured career development and promotion opportunities.

Qualifications

• A few years of fee-earning experience in employment law.
• Ability to advise on employee relations and discrimination matters.
• Experience with employment contracts and tribunal defense.

Responsibilities

• Advise clients on employment law matters.
• Support corporate deals and projects within the firm.
• Collaborate with colleagues across offices for seamless service.

Skills

Associate level in employment law

Fee-earning experience

Contentious and non-contentious experience

Job description

About Us

We're a Top 100 full‑service UK law firm with just over 600 employees. With four offices in Watford, London, Bristol and Birmingham, you'll experience a close‑knit and friendly culture. We value integrity, authenticity, humour and humility and pride ourselves on recruiting proactive, passionate, and people‑centred lawyers.

The Role and Team

This Associate position offers you the opportunity to have a big impact within a small employment team in Watford while benefiting from the strength of a large department. You will work closely with the two Partners, an Associate, a Solicitor, a Trainee and a Secretary, and support both respondent‑based and occasional claimant work. The role involves a wide range of generalist employment law tasks – from employee relations and discrimination advice to employment contracts, TUPE and complex tribunal defence – across diverse sectors such as manufacturing, finance, recruitment, pharmaceuticals, energy and education.

Responsibilities

• Advise clients on employee relations, discrimination, employment contracts, TUPE and defence of employment tribunals.
• Support corporate deals and wider projects within the firm.
• Collaborate with colleagues across offices to provide a seamless “one‑stop shop” service.

Qualifications

• Associate or Senior Associate level of employment law.
• A few years of fee‑earning experience.
• Experience or expertise in both contentious and non‑contentious matters; advocacy experience is a plus but not essential.

Where Will I Be Working?

We operate a hybrid model. For this role, you will work from our Watford office 2–3 days a week to enjoy the warm, friendly culture and to facilitate cross‑referral opportunities.

Why Choose Us?

We offer a supportive, inclusive environment with no pigeon‑holed roles or glass ceilings. Growth is supported through our bespoke Learning Academy, structured career‑level programmes and promotion opportunities. We consistently provide reasonable adjustments and strive to create the best candidate experience.

Not Sure Whether To Apply?

If you have questions, please contact Emma Latchem‑Hughes, Talent Acquisition Advisor, at 07340 632798 or elatchem‑[e-mail].

Ready to Join Us?

To learn more about life at VWV, we invite you to watch our short video and to click the “Apply Now” button at the foot of the advert if you feel ready to apply. We welcome enthusiastic candidates who are passionate about this role, even if you do not meet every requirement.

Recruitment Agencies

We are currently in a period of exclusive direct sourcing for this role and are not accepting applications from agencies. Any named or anonymous profile or CV sent to us will be deemed an unsolicited approach and treated as a gift.