Associate

About The Role

About the role

• Due to continued growth, our Education & Charities Team is looking to recruit an Employment Associate to support and further develop our highly regarded education sector practice.

  Employment law in education is fast-moving, complex and people-focused. This role offers the opportunity to work closely with independent schools, academies, maintained schools, higher and further education colleges and universities , advising on the full range of employment and HR issues.

  You will work collaboratively with colleagues across the Education & Charities Team, becoming a trusted adviser to clients by truly understanding how their organisations operate, their approach to risk, and the practical realities of running an educational establishment.

  About our education practice

  As a firm, we act for over 300 educational institutions. We are also trusted advisers to national education associations and have played a key role in shaping sector-wide guidance, including developing a national Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and producing template policies and contracts for schools.

  Our lawyers are passionate about education and understand the interplay between education law, employment law and best practice. We work collaboratively across disciplines to deliver joined-up, commercially focused advice.
  

  The work

  You will advise on a broad range of employment matters for education clients, including:

  • Day-to-day employment and HR advisory work,
  • Complex staffing issues, disciplinary and grievance matters,
  • Safeguarding-related employment issues,
  • Senior appointments, exits and restructures,
  • Employment aspects of academy conversions, mergers and governance changes,
  • Drafting and reviewing contracts, policies and staff handbooks,
  • Providing pragmatic, commercial and solutions-focused advice.

  You will work closely with governors, heads, bursars, COOs and senior leadership teams, acting as an extension of your client’s in-house teams. Our education clients value clarity, confidence and practical guidance and this role is ideal for someone who enjoys building long-term client relationships and advising in a sector with real social impact.

  Why join our Education Team?

  • High-quality, varied work with nationally recognised education clients,
  • A genuinely collaborative and supportive Employment team,
  • Clear opportunities for progression and specialism,
  • The chance to build a strong personal profile within the education sector,
  • A people-focused culture that values approachability as much as technical excellence

About You

About you

You will ideally have:

• 3+ years’ PQE in employment law,
• Experience advising education clients or a strong interest in developing a specialism in the education sector,
• The ability to manage client relationships with confidence and empathy,
• Strong technical ability and excellent drafting skills,
• A pragmatic, solutions-driven approach,
• Commercial awareness and an interest in business development,
• A collaborative mindset and a genuine enjoyment of working as part of a team.

Ideally, you will be able to show an interest, and experience, in higher education employment work, but this isn’t a pre-requisite. Prior experience in education is beneficial but not essential — what matters most is your enthusiasm for the sector and your commitment to delivering clear, dependable advice.

About Us

Benefits of working with us:

• Income Protection

• Private Medical Insurance

• Sight tests / Glasses discounts

• Bonus scheme
• Electric vehicle scheme

• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme

• 28 days annual leave (plus public holidays)
• Happy People / Perks at Work benefits portal
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Life Assurance
• 1/3 gym membership contribution
• Flu vaccinations

Is HCR the smart move for you?
HCR suits people who love a challenge and want to work in an environment where careers thrive on the back of hard work and personal merit. Our people enjoy feeling part of something bigger than themselves, and whilst our clients drive our development, it is our people who bring their energy, enthusiasm, and entrepreneurial mindsets together to solve problems and help our clients succeed.

Why HCR people love their jobs
Our people tell us they enjoy working on good quality, interesting matters from a wide variety of our clients, because they get the experience they want to develop their careers. We will give you responsibility early, the mandate to make things happen and we’ll back your good ideas. Our “Passion for People” lives and breathes every day throughout the firm as our peoples’ energy and sense of fun create a warm environment in which to thrive.

What career progression will HCR offer you?
HCR’s growth constantly creates opportunities for people who want to go places and make a difference, your career plan can become part of our growth plan. At HCR you can expect to work with friendly, energetic, ambitious people, who love getting stuck into a client problem, and enjoy celebrating a good outcome. Our people value the sense of community provided by the individual personality of each office and the collegiate approach across all our service and sector teams.

What does HCR believe, achieve and stand for?
As a Times Best Law firm, among the UK Top 50, we provide the full range of services that you would expect to organisations, business leaders and individuals. However, in our mission to give everyone the opportunity to experience a different kind of legal service we take an entrepreneurial approach. We’re flexible and responsive to the needs of our clients, delivering the best outcomes for them. We have more than 1000 lawyers and support staff, including more than 180 partners, and have been awarded the Law Society’s Lexcel quality mark in recognition of our compliance and client care standards.

With 13 offices in England and Wales our well-established presence stretches from west to east, ensuring clients can access a full-service legal offering no matter where they’re located. We’ve expanded significantly across all our regions, and are well-respected as a regional firm with a strong London and international presence.

With solid connections in the communities we work in, and a track record of delivering legal advice to businesses and individuals throughout the areas we base ourselves in, our clients continue to value our approach to providing legal advice, in the way they need, when they need it.

As HCR is an equal opportunities employer, we don’t just accept differences, we celebrate them. We want to attract a diverse and ambitious workforce that reflects all backgrounds and skills to create a workplace that is supportive and inclusive, recognises and nurtures talent, and which works together to achieve the best outcome for our clients. We are privileged to be an armed forces-friendly organisation.

We also want you to achieve your absolute best during the recruitment process. Please let us know of any changes we can make at any point that will help support your application. If this opportunity sounds of interest to you, please make an application and submit your CV.

A note for recruitment agencies – The HCR Resourcing Team is responsible for recruitment across the firm, and where possible will use direct hiring methods. We do work with a Preferred Supplier List, and where appropriate, we will release vacancies to those agencies who we deem most appropriate to support us. Only those agencies will be invited to submit candidates via our recruitment portal. Any speculative or unsolicited CVs sent to any employee or Partner of HCR will not be considered an introduction, and no fees will be applicable. Furthermore, we retain the right to pursue these candidates without query of ownership