Employment Lawyer

PwC; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 300 000 - 400 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global professional services firm in Johannesburg seeks a commercially minded lawyer with employment law experience. You will provide strategic guidance, support workplace investigations, manage complex employment matters, and collaborate with various teams. The ideal candidate will have a Qualified Lawyer status in South Africa and at least 1 year PQE, along with strong communication skills and a collaborative mindset. This role offers an opportunity to work on significant legal matters in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• 1+ years' PQE in a reputable employment law practice.
• Experience in redundancy and reorganisations.
• Familiarity with investigations and ER advisory.

Responsibilities

• Support UK lawyers in workplace investigations and drafting reports.
• Project manage high-profile non-financial misconduct investigations.
• Provide strategic ER advisory support and risk management advice.

Skills

Commercial mindset

Attention to detail

Strong work ethic

Client relationship skills

Communication skills

Education

Qualified Lawyer status in South Africa

Job description

Description

& SummaryAt PwC, our people in legal services offer comprehensive legal solutions and advice to internal stakeholders and clients, maintaining compliance with regulations and minimising legal risks. These individuals provide strategic guidance and support across various industries.

In legal specialties at PwC, you will focus on legal support and advice across specific areas of law, confirming compliance and mitigating legal risks for the organisation. Your work will involve a wide range of specific legal matters and collaborate with different teams to drive business objectives.

Focused on relationships, you are building meaningful client connections, and learning how to manage and inspire others. Navigating increasingly complex situations, you are growing your personal brand, deepening technical expertise and awareness of your strengths. You are expected to anticipate the needs of your teams and clients, and to deliver quality. Embracing increased ambiguity, you are comfortable when the path forward isn’t clear, you ask questions, and you use these moments as opportunities to grow.

Examples of the skills, knowledge, and experiences you need to lead and deliver value at this level include but are not limited to:

• Respond effectively to the diverse perspectives, needs, and feelings of others.
• Use a broad range of tools, methodologies and techniques to generate new ideas and solve problems.
• Use critical thinking to break down complex concepts.
• Understand the broader objectives of your project or role and how your work fits into the overall strategy.
• Develop a deeper understanding of the business context and how it is changing.
• Use reflection to develop self awareness, enhance strengths and address development areas.
• Interpret data to inform insights and recommendations.
• Uphold and reinforce professional and technical standards (e.g. refer to specific PwC tax and audit guidance), the Firm's code of conduct, and independence requirements.

Job Description

The PwC South Africa Technology and Innovation Centre (SATIC) area service delivery centre serving PwC UK LLP and is an independent member of the PwC international network of firms.

By joining SATIC you will be based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and you will be part of the 30+ employment law solicitors based in the UK to support with their client facing work. You will be responsible for supporting UK lawyers with undertaking workplace investigations, drafting reports and undertaking research. You will combine strong technical excellence with commercial judgement, project leadership and a collaborative approach to cross‑disciplinary delivery. This is an opportunity to advise high‑profile clients on strategically significant matters in a dynamic, non‑traditional legal environment.

Key Responsibilities

You will be involved in a broad range of contentious and non‑contentious employment work, including high‑value and complex mandates. In particular, you will:

• Be part of workforce change projects, including restructuring and redundancy programmes, transfers, changes to terms and conditions, and intra‑group workforce moves, often across multiple jurisdictions.
• Help to project manage high‑profile non‑financial misconduct investigations.
• Help to provide strategic ER advisory support, investigations guidance and risk management advice, partnering with HR, Reward, Compliance and senior leadership stakeholders.
• Provide strategic ER advisory support, investigations guidance and risk management advice, partnering with HR, Reward, Compliance and senior leadership stakeholders.
• Support transactions by running the employment workstream on domestic and cross‑border deals, collaborating closely with our Tax, Deals and Workforce colleagues.
• Design and deliver client training, thought leadership and horizon scanning on employment law developments and workforce regulatory change.
• Support pitches and proposals, contribute to go‑to‑market campaigns, and identify and convert new opportunities, both within PwC and externally.
• Manage matters profitably and efficiently, with disciplined scoping, budgeting, resourcing and risk management, and effective use of technology‑enabled delivery.
• Coordinate multi‑jurisdictional projects, leveraging our international network to deliver consistent, timely and compliant outcomes.

Skills and Experience

We are seeking a commercially minded lawyer with employment law experience that has a strong attention to detail, strong work ethic, is collaborative and enjoys working as part of a team.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Qualified Lawyer status in South Africa (or equivalent employment law jurisdiction) with 1+ years’ PQE gained in a reputable employment law practice.
• Demonstrable experience across some of the following: redundancy and reorganisations; changing terms and conditions; investigations and ER advisory; managing litigation; and cross‑border projects.
• Experience of the employment workstream on transactions and large‑scale change programmes, including project management of multi‑jurisdictional matters.
• Proven client relationship skills and providing clear, outcome‑focused advice.
• Evidence of business development capability, including cross‑selling and thought leadership.
• Excellent communication, drafting and presentation skills.
• Strong matter management discipline, including scoping, budgeting, profitability and risk management.
• A collaborative, entrepreneurial mindset and enthusiasm for working within a multi‑disciplinary, technology‑enabled environment.

What You’ll Work On

You will engage in technically challenging, strategically significant projects for high‑profile clients, avoiding repetitive cycles of identical deals. You will collaborate closely with non‑lawyers across PwC, gaining a deep understanding of business drivers and bringing integrated solutions to clients.

Travel Requirements

Up to 20%

Available for Work Visa Sponsorship?

No

Job Posting End Date

February 5, 2026