Associate General Counsel - Employment

The Associate General Counsel, Employment is a senior member of the Group Legal function and leads the Group’s employment and labour law central capability.

The role provides strategic, commercial and practical legal leadership on significant employment matters across the Group.  Reporting to the General Counsel, Corporate, M&A, and Strategic Projects, the Associate General Counsel, Employment works closely with the Legal and Communications Leadership Team, Group HR, Divisional Legal and Divisional HR Leadership and Divisional Legal to identify and manage employment law risk, support the Group’s People strategy and enable organisational and business changes.

The role leads on material, sensitive multi-jurisdictional employment matters (UK and internationally, except the U.S.), supporting HR globally, working closely with the General Counsel, Litigation, Divisional Legal and other Legal colleagues on material employment-related disputes and litigation matters. It also involves establishing good practice that enable Divisional Legal and HR teams to manage locally led matters compliantly and effectively. It has significant influence across the organisation and requires the ability to build personal credibility quickly, exercise sound judgement and bring clarity to complex or sensitive situations.

Strategic employment advice 

• Act as the Group’s dedicated legal specialist for employment and labour law, providing sound, risk-based and commercially practical advice to Group and Divisional stakeholders.
• Partner with Group HR and Legal colleagues in developing and implementing the Group’s People strategy, employment policies and relevant governance frameworks.
• Advise on significant workforce matters, including reorganisations, workforce transformation, consultation processes, executive employment matters and other complex organisational change.
• Identify emerging legal and regulatory developments and provide regular updates to Group HR and Legal on their implications for the Group.
• Support Group HR and Legal in delivering training and broader capability-building initiatives to enhance the knowledge, skills and effectiveness of team members.

Disputes and investigations

• Work closely with the General Counsel, Litigation to oversee or support material employment disputes and litigation.
• Support internal employment investigations and other sensitive employee matters including related, employee law and data privacy issues.  
• Develop appropriate employee dispute avoidance and mitigation strategies, including appropriate training, policies, and raising awareness.
• Work closely with the Legal, Ethics & Compliance team, HR and/or Divisional Legal on material employment-related Code of Ethics concerns and employee related investigations.
• Support the Director of Data Protection on Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs),other employee data rights requests and other data privacy matters relating to employment.

Employment Strategy, Risk & Capability

• Lead the employment-law workstream on complex cross-border projects, coordinating divisional teams and seeking support of external counsel where appropriate.
• Establish proportionate and consistent approaches to employment risk across the Group, while recognising local legal and operational requirements.
• Develop and update practical policies, guidance, templates, for Legal and HR business stakeholders, keeping the business aware of significant regulatory and legal changes in the main jurisdictions where Smiths operates, while leading training and supporting capability building initiatives for HR colleagues.
• Report material risks, developments and recommendations clearly to senior stakeholders and relevant governance forums.
• In all circumstances, manage and control the external legal budget using first internal resources where available.

M&A and business transformation

• Advise on the employment aspects of acquisitions, disposals, carve-outs, restructurings and other strategic transactions.
• Support employment due diligence, risk allocation, employee information and consultation, transaction documentation, and post-completion integration.
• Work collaboratively with the Group M&A and Group M&A Legal, Group HR, Group Reward, Divisional Legal and external counsel to deliver transaction objectives.

Reward, Governance and disclosure

• Advise Group HR and Group Reward on the development and implementation of material compensation, benefits and executive employment initiatives.
• Support efficient implementation and oversight on Equal Pay Transparency or equivalent with local HR teams impacted by regulatory changes
• Support the Governance team, Investor Relations, and other relevant teams on employment-related content for the Annual Report, public announcements, other external disclosures and change management having a Corporate Governance impact.

External counsel, budget and legal-service improvement

• Develop and manage the Group’s employment-law external counsel strategy, including panel relationships, matter allocation, service standards and fee arrangements.
• Manage the employment legal budget within the role’s remit, including forecasting, matter scoping, cost control and spend reporting.

This job description describes the principal accountabilities of the role but is not exhaustive as Smithsmay require the role holder to undertake other reasonable duties consistent with the role’s seniority, skills and experience.

Smiths is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to crafting an inclusive environment for all employees. PQE is indicative only. If you believe you have the relevant experience irrespective of PQE, or if you do not tick all the boxes in this job description, we want to hear from you.