Employment Law Career Guide

Employment law governs rights and obligations arising from the employment relationship and from the termination of that relationship. Key subject matter includes unfair dismissal, discrimination and equality law, redundancy and collective consultation, settlement agreements, employment status (worker v employee), TUPE (transfer of undertakings), restrictive covenants, and workplace policies such as disciplinary and grievance procedures.

Employment law work falls into two broad client-side categories:

• Employee-side advice and litigation.

• Employer-side advisory and preventative work.

Employee-side firms typically handle tribunal claims, settlement negotiations and low-value/high-volume work. Employer-side teams focus on risk management, contracts, large-scale reorganisations, and defending tribunal claims. In-house employment lawyers advise the business on HR strategy, internal investigations and large-scale redundancy programmes. Many solicitors combine advisory work with tribunal advocacy or negotiation.

Daily tasks vary by setting, but common activities include drafting, advising, negotiation and advocacy. Examples of typical matters:

• Handling an unfair dismissal claim: take instructions, analyse the dismissal for potential procedural and substantive defects, prepare ET1 or ET3 documents, draft witness statements, negotiate a settlement agreement, or represent the client at a preliminary hearing and final hearing.

• Advising on settlement agreements: draft or amend terms, explain tax and notice implications, and negotiate confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses.

• Conducting investigations: plan and run disciplinary or grievance investigations, produce investigation reports, and advise on disciplinary outcomes to mitigate risk of tribunal claims.

• TUPE and restructures: review transfer issues, advise on consultation obligations and harmonisation of terms, and draft employee communications.

• Discrimination claims: assess comparators and the protected characteristic, draft pleadings and witness evidence, and prepare for remedies hearings involving injury to feelings and financial loss.

A typical day might therefore include client calls, drafting pleadings and advice letters, preparing witness bundles, legal research, and attendance at mediations or Employment Tribunal hearings.

There are multiple, well-trodden progression routes in employment law:

1. Private practice route

2. Start As A Paralegal Or Trainee: Many solicitors begin as paralegals in specialist employment firms or general commercial firms with an employment team. Traineeships in firms with employment departments offer structured exposure to different client bases.

3. Progress To Associate And Senior Associate: After qualification, you usually handle your own caseload, supervise juniors and develop a speciality (for example, discrimination law, pensions, or international TUPE).

4. Move To Partner Or Of Counsel: Partners lead client relationships, win work and manage teams. Smaller firms let solicitors take partner-equivalent responsibility earlier.

5. In-house route

6. Employment lawyers move in-house to support HR, lead on restructures and reduce external costs. This route offers broader commercial exposure and the chance to influence workplace strategy.

7. Alternative routes

8. Consultancy, ADR and policy roles: Experienced employment solicitors sometimes move into mediation, HR consultancies, trade union legal departments, or policy/think-tank roles.

Specialisations such as pensions, international cross-border employment, high-value board-level disputes, or employment aspects of M&A increase marketability. Many solicitors combine litigation and advisory practices, which enhances both professional development and employability.

Technical know-how and rounded professional skills are essential.

Key legal and technical skills:

• Strong knowledge of the Employment Rights Act, Equality Act, TUPE and relevant case law.

• Tribunal procedure competence, including drafting ET1/ET3 forms, witness statements and submitting bundles.

• Practical drafting: contracts, settlement agreements, HR policies and advice letters must be clear and pragmatic.

Key professional skills:

• Advocacy and persuasion: Tribunal advocacy and oral submissions are core to many employment roles.

• Interviewing and investigation skills: Effective fact-gathering and neutral investigation reports reduce litigation risk.

• Commercial awareness and judgement: Advise with an understanding of costs, reputational risk and business impact.

• Client management and empathy: Employment law is highly personal for clients; emotional intelligence improves outcomes.

Qualifications and training routes:

• Qualified Solicitor: The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) is the current route to qualification for many candidates. Training contracts remain an alternative route if already in a programme.

• Continuing professional development: Employment law changes frequently, so CPD courses, seminars and case updates are vital.

• Additional certifications: HR qualifications (eg CIPD) or mediation accreditation are useful for specific roles. Law reporting subscriptions (Practical Law, Lexis, Westlaw) and tribunal databases (BAILII, Employment Tribunals decisions) are essential research tools.

Breaking into employment law combines targeted experience, tailored applications and networking.

1. Build relevant experience early

2. Seek paralegal roles in employment teams or at firms that handle high volumes of tribunal work.

3. Volunteer at university law clinics or Citizens Advice to gain client-facing and advice experience.

4. Get work shadowing with employment solicitors or HR teams to understand day-to-day practice.

5. Tailor your applications

6. Highlight relevant examples in your CV and cover letter: use STAR-format examples showing investigation, negotiation or advocacy.

7. Demonstrate knowledge of recent tribunal decisions or high-profile cases relevant to the firm's client base.

8. Use firm intelligence to tailor applications: check firm profiles on LawCareers.Net, Chambers Student, Legal Cheek and YourLegalLadder to match your examples to the firm's work.

9. Prepare for assessments and interviews

10. Prepare three strong STAR answers covering client care, conflict resolution and delivering complex advice under pressure.

11. Expect practical exercises: drafting a short advice note, redrafting a clause in a settlement agreement, or roleplaying an employment tribunal hearing.

12. Practice tribunal advocacy and witness statement drafting; sit in on local Employment Tribunal hearings where possible.

13. Develop commercial awareness and a speciality

14. Read ACAS guidance and recent tribunal decisions on BAILII.

15. Follow sector-specific news: major restructures, redundancies or sector-wide employment issues often produce work for employment lawyers.

16. Consider a niche: pensions, international TUPE, or complex discrimination law increase your distinctiveness.

17. Use networks and resources

18. Build relationships by attending local employment law breakfasts, CIPD events and online webinars.

19. Use platforms such as YourLegalLadder, Legal Cheek, Chambers Student and LawCareers.Net for firm profiles, market intelligence, training contract trackers and mentoring.

20. Seek 1-on-1 mentoring or CV/TC reviews from qualified solicitors to get targeted feedback on applications.

Practical example: If you are applying to employee-side firms, prepare a short skeleton argument and a client-friendly advice note on options after dismissal (eg ACAS Early Conciliation, time limits, prospects of success). If applying to employer-side roles, prepare a short checklist for an internal redundancy consultation and draft a template settlement clause that minimises future claims.

Keep learning and be client-focused. Employment law evolves rapidly through case law and statutory changes; regular reading and CPD are non-negotiable. Develop strong relationships with HR professionals and mediators to generate work and resolve disputes early. Improve commercial skills by understanding client KPIs and the cost-benefit of litigation versus settlement.

Record-keeping and time management are vital in high-volume practices. Maintain a personal library of standard clauses, template witness statements, and a litigation checklist for tribunal stages. Join professional networks and contribute to training or articles - this raises your profile and cements expertise.

Resources you should use regularly:

• ACAS guidance and codes of practice.

• Employment Tribunal decisions via BAILII.

• Practical Law, LexisNexis and Westlaw for commentary and updates.

• Professional networks and journals, such as Employment Law Journal and CIPD resources.

• Career and market intelligence platforms including yourLegalLadder, lawCareers.Net, legal cheek and chambers student.

With focused experience, a habit of updating legal knowledge, and strong client skills, employment law can be a highly rewarding specialism with diverse career pathways in private practice, in-house roles and advisory or policy work.