Senior Legal Counsel, Employment

Centrica Services Ltd (UK); Windsor; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Centrica plc is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel, Employment to join the Legal, Regulatory Affairs, Ethics & Compliance, and Secretariat Function (LRECS). You will provide commercially focused, risk-based employment advice across UK and Ireland, reporting to the Head of Legal, Employment, and supporting a growing team.

The role requires a qualified solicitor with significant PQE, strong stakeholder management, and the ability to manage outsourcing and TUPE implications while collaborating with HR,

Qualifications

• Qualified solicitor with UK or equivalent practicing certificate and significant PQE.
• Ability to deputise for Head of Legal, Employment.
• Strong expertise in employment law including large-scale outsourcing with TUPE implications.

Responsibilities

• Advise People and Employee Relations on employment law for day-to-day matters and complex grievances.
• Liaise with external lawyers to deliver high-quality support, including UK Employment Tribunal cases.
• Collaborate with Reward and People Operations on terms, policies, pay transparency, and benefits.
• Prepare for Employment Rights Act 2025 changes and build HR capability through training.
• Provide advice to Legal Commercial, M&A, Procurement, and People teams on non-contentious employment aspects of strategic arrangements.
• Engage with Industrial Relations on union issues, industrial action, and collective bargaining.
• Explore/engage with AI tools in Employment team and participate in LRECS AI trials.
• Build relationships with stakeholders across People and the wider business.
• Contribute to LRECS initiatives and activities.

Skills

Qualified solicitor

Employment law specialist

Autonomous working

Stakeholder management

Tech interest

Strong drafting skills

Strong communication skills

Presentation skills

Job description

Join us, be part of more. We’re so much more than an energy company. We’re a family of brands revolutionising how we power the planet. We're energisers. One team of 21,000 colleagues that's energising a greener, fairer future by creating an energy system that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels, whilst living our powerful commitment to igniting positive change in our communities. Here, you can find more purpose, more passion, and more potential. That’s why working here is #MoreThanACareer. We do energy differently - we do it all. We make it, store it, move it, sell it, and mend it. We have a fantastic opportunity for a Senior Legal Counsel, Employment to join our Legal, Regulatory Affairs, Ethics & Compliance, and Secretariat Function (LRECS). LRECS focusses on providing a diverse and inclusive environment with a strong emphasis on wellbeing and delivering opportunities for growth and personal development. This role will form part of a team of 3 Employment Lawyers who deliver commercially focused, risk-based specialist employment advice to all UK and Ireland business units and group functions across the Centrica group. It will report to the Head of Legal, Employment and will help to support and develop a more junior team member.

Location: With our Flexible First working arrangements we empower our colleagues to work in a way that best suits them. The successful candidate will, however, need to be comfortable commuting to our Windsor office (until December 2026) and Reading office (from December 2026) on a twice-weekly basis and on some occasions, more frequently.

What will you do?

• Advise the Centrica People and Employee Relations teams on the application of employment law to a range of day-to-day employment matters, including complex grievances and disputes, with the right balance of risk awareness and pragmatism.
• Liaise with and manage external lawyers* (UK and international) to deliver high quality, good value support and advice in particular in the UK in relation to Employment Tribunal cases.
• Work with the Centrica Reward and People Operations teams on various issues including terms and conditions of employment, HR policies, Pay transparency and other pay-related issues, advice on benefits and incentive schemes.
• Support Centrica People and Employee Relations teams to prepare for the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes and build HR capability by providing education, training and support on relevant aspects of employment law.
• Provide advice to Legal Commercial, M&A, Procurement and People teams and to lead on non-contentious employment aspects of strategic business arrangements, including tenders, outsourcings (sometimes with complex TUPE implications), as well as reorganisations and redundancies.
• Provide advice to the Industrial Relations team on trade union related issues including industrial action, facilities time and collective bargaining.
• Actively explore/engage with our Tech colleagues on the introduction of AI tools to support the work of the Employment team and participate in any LRECS trials of AI tools.
• Build relationships with key stakeholders in the People team and the wider business.
• Actively engage in LRECS initiatives and activities.

* Note: we are in the process of recruiting a Senior Legal Counsel, Employment Litigation to run Employment Tribunal claims inhouse, which will increase the team size to 4. These claims are now outsourced to external advisers with whom team members engage on strategic direction and key decisions. A proportion of claims will continue to be outsourced.

Here’s who we’re looking for:

• A Qualified solicitor with a UK or equivalent practicing certificate with significant relevant PQE experience and the confidence to deputise for the Head of Legal, Employment when required.
• An employment law specialist with the expertise and experience required to provide quick, pragmatic and commercially sound advice on all employment issues including large scale outsourcings with TUPE implications.
• The ability to work autonomously and at pace, with competing deadlines.
• Confident and effective stakeholder management and ability to work closely with teams in HR, Reward, Procurement, M&A and other specialist Legal areas.
• A genuine interest in technology and how it might support the work of the Employment team.
• Strong drafting skills.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex legal principles to a variety of internal stakeholders.
• Excellent presentation skills with the willingness to deliver occasional training.

Why should you apply?

We’re not a perfect place – but we’re a people place. Our priority is supporting all of the different realities our people face. Life is about so much more than work. We get it. That’s why we’ve designed our total rewards to give you the flexibility to choose what you need, when you need it, making sure that you and your family are supported not only financially, but physically and emotionally too.

We’re a family of brands revolutionising how we power the planet. Through innovative green products, intelligent energy solutions and developing smarter ways to use and save energy, we’re not just part of the energy transition, we’re leading it.

Our commitment goes beyond sustainability. Together we’re bringing our collective energies to create positive change in our local communities. If you immerse yourself in our fight to change tomorrow, you might just find your why.

We’re looking for people to add to our culture – not fit in with it. We're building a community where you can be unapologetically you, where differences are celebrated, and where everyone can belong. Real inclusivity also means supporting the different realities our people face. That’s why we have the UK’s best Carers Policy and are continually building our approach to flexibility and wellbeing.

Of course, we love having fun too. We’re a people place after all.