Legal Counsel - Employment

At McLaren Racing, we’re not just here to try to take the chequered flag. We’re here to excite our fans, inspire our people and deliver for our partners. And we’re also committed to evolving our sport, our industry, and our technology, too

Purpose of the Role:

The Senior Specialist, Legal Counsel – Employment role is a newly created position designed to support both the Legal and People teams by delivering pragmatic, timely advice across a wide range of employment matters. Acting as a trusted advisor, the role plays a key part in maintaining compliance, managing risk, and supporting a high‑performance culture within McLaren Racing. It is a great opportunity for an early to mid-level employment lawyer who is looking to broaden their experience and significantly develop their capability in a fast‑paced, collaborative in-house environment.

This role will work in close partnership with the Head of Employment Law, working together as one cohesive and supportive team to deliver high‑quality, solutions‑focused legal advice to stakeholders. The two roles will collaborate daily, sharing insights, aligning on strategy, and ensuring a consistent, business‑focused approach to employment matters. The position requires an agile and commercially minded approach, with a strong emphasis on service delivery and proactive engagement.

This role is suited to someone proactive and energetic, who enjoys variety in role with advisory aspect at its heart, and is motivated to achieve the best outcomes for their stakeholders.

Role Dimensions:

• Sits within the Business Affairs function.

• Reports to the Head of Employment Law.

• Works closely with the People team and business leaders across McLaren Racing.

• No direct reports.

• Minimum 3 days per week in the office in line with the Hybrid Working Policy.

Principal Accountabilities:

• Provide clear, practical and risk-balanced legal advice to the People team and managers on the full-range of employment matters including recruitment, performance and capability, absence management, redundancy consultations, and terminations.

• Draft, review and update employment contracts, contractor arrangements, policy documents, employment-related provisions in commercial agreements and wider toolkits and templates for the People team.

• Provide guidance on employee relations issues and help prepare documentation relating to sensitive workplace matters.

• Manage employment-related disputes and coordinate with external counsel where required.

• Assist with advising on UK immigration processes and right-to-work compliance.

• Advise on data privacy matters, including data subject access requests.

• Horizon scan, carry out legal research, and prepare summaries or guidance on relevant employment legislation and developments in case law. A key focus for 2026 and 2027 will be preparing for upcoming employment law changes and assessing their policy and strategic impact.

• Support change programmes (restructures, redundancy consultations, TUPE preparations) under the direction of senior counsel.

• Assist in delivering training to the People team and wider business on key employment compliance topics and changes in regulations.

• Support the wider Legal team when required.