Lawyer (or Legal Officer - up to 1 years PQE) - Croydon - Ruskin Square

Lawyer (or Legal Officer - up to 1 years PQE) - Croydon - Ruskin Square About the job

Job summary

Discover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you're seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it's really like to work at HMRC.

Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full series and come and discover your potential.

At HMRC we are committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues; an inclusive and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society we serve.

We want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us and we offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make a fulfilling career at HMRC accessible to you.

Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success and we welcome applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role.

HMRC Legal Group gives legal advice on issues arising from HMRC's work and conducts HMRC's litigation. Our work impacts the lives of millions, as we help to collect the money that pays for the UK's public services and provide targeted financial support to families and individuals. We have around 1700 people including lawyers, tax professionals, advocates, paralegals and administrators. Our strength is in our diverse people and the inclusive working culture that brings us together.

We work in supportive, specialist teams, that handle a broad range of different areas of law including general public law (human rights, administrative law, freedom of information) tax law, commercial law, insolvency law, information law and criminal law, employer's liability for personal injury, focusing on either policy and operational advisory work or litigation.

Job description

Why HMRC?

Things at HMRC probably don't work the way you'd think.

Tired of constant 60-hour plus weeks and the corporate grind?

Would you like to work on complex legal issues that make a positive difference to the nation's finances? If you're nodding your head reading this, you've come to the right place.

We offer hybrid working, with 60% average office attendance (and court time is counted as office hours), actual flexitime and genuine work-life balance alongside fascinating technical work.

Advisory Lawyers

Our advisory lawyers give advice on the interpretation and application of legislation. This includes advising HMRC and Treasury ministers on a wide variety of taxes, including business tax, personal tax, customs, excise, environmental taxes and VAT law. We also advise on other issues, such as welfare, insolvency, information law and international law and treaties. Our advice encompasses areas of public and administrative law. We implement policy through primary and secondary legislation, including through the annual Finance Bill. We support policy colleagues at all stages of the parliamentary process as well as drafting a high volume of statutory instruments.

Our commercial lawyers give advice on high value and complex public procurement and contractual commercial legal issues within government. This includes providing legal support to HMRC's largest transformation programmes including IT and Estates. We support HMRC's day to day banking and general commercial operations, including all aspects of commercial contracts, intellectual property rights, public procurement and state aid, contract and supplier management, and dispute resolution.

Our criminal lawyers give advice and support to investigators and policy makers, supporting HMRC's tax enforcement activity in investigating serious complex fraud and other criminal non-compliance.

Litigation Lawyers

Our litigation lawyers conduct litigation across the full range of HMRC work. We litigate some of the most challenging and important high value, complex Government litigation. These include big money tax cases and cases ranging from resisting judicial review challenges to litigating civil cases against those who benefit from the proceeds of crime. Our cases will often involve novel and challenging points of law and contribute to developing the interpretation of the law. We regularly litigate through the higher courts to the Supreme Court.

Who are we looking for?

We are recruiting qualified lawyers and we would like you to apply whatever level of experience you have.

We have vacancies for lawyers in both our advisory and litigation work. You do not need any existing knowledge of our work or tax experience. We will give you training and support to develop your knowledge and expertise and you can expect to move teams within our diverse practice every few years to build up your skills and experience.

If you have already developed a specialism in any of our work areas, we'd be keen to know about that, so please tell us about it in your application form. Please bear in mind that you will be offered a role in order of merit and not necessarily within your specialism.

Person specification

You must ensure that you meet all the eligibility criteria listed below. Our application form will ask you to show this.

Academic

You need to have a minimum of a 2:1 degree in your first degree (in any subject). If you hold an overseas degree qualification this should be equivalent to a 2.1 degree.

If you have a lower degree classification, we may consider your application but only if you can provide satisfactory evidence of an equivalent high level academic and/or professional achievement.

For example, if you can tell us that you have:

• Significant relevant experience
• Completion of a level 6 apprenticeship or other level 6 qualification
• A commendation or distinction in the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/CPE or the Legal Practice Course (LPC)
• An LLM or other postgraduate degree
• Very competent on the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) or
• An overall average score of 65% or above across exams passed in the seven foundation subjects in law where studied at CILEx level 6: namely contract law, criminal law, equity and trusts law, European Union Law, land law, public law and law of tort.

If you do not hold a degree we will consider your application if you provide satisfactory evidence of:

• Completion of a level 6 apprenticeship or other level 6 qualification
• An overall average score of 65% or above across exams passed in the seven foundation subjects in law where studied at CILEx level 6: namely contract law, criminal law, equity and trusts law, European Union Law, land law, public law and law of tort.

Professional Qualifications

You need to be qualified as a Solicitor or Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales. Or that you will be qualified within 3 months from the date that the advert closes.

Solicitors, Barristers or Chartered Legal Executives must have passed SQE or completed a training contract/pupillage/qualifying employment or have been exempted from this by the Law Society, the Bar Council or CILEx.

Chartered Legal Executives must have a Qualifying Law Degree or have completed the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)/CPE or have passed exams (i.e. a score of 50% or above achieved) at CILEx Level 6, in all the seven foundation subjects in law: contract law, criminal law, equity and trusts law, European Union Law, land law, public law and law of tort.

If you are a qualified lawyer in a jurisdiction outside England and Wales, we need you to become qualified in England and Wales within 2 years of starting employment with us, and your employment will be conditional upon you successfully becoming qualified within this time. This may cause you some cost. Further information on qualification is available from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Bar Standards Board (BSB).

Essential Criteria:

You need to fulfil the person specification, comprising the academic criteria and professional qualifications including either qualification as a Solicitor or Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive in England and Wales, (or that you will be so qualified within 3 months from the date that the advert closes), or if you are a foreign qualified lawyer, you will be qualified in England and Wales within 2 years of starting employment with HMRC.

G7 Webinar Session Link - Join the meeting now Mon 24 Nov 12:30-2pm

Leeds Locations

Moves Adjustment Payment will be available for this role, provided the successful applicant is a current HMRC colleague in Bradford and meets the eligibility requirements outlined in the HMRC's Moves Adjustment Payment guidance.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• We will ask you to complete an online written exercise to test your Legal Skills by a deadline. We will give you all the necessary information, including about the relevant law, to enable you to complete this.
• At interview will ask you questions based on the same legal scenario but following the provision of additional information.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,541, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £16,959 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs.

We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.

• Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues' Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.
• Family friendly policies.
• Personal support.
• Coaching and development.

To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it's really like to work for HMRC hear from our insiders or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Technical skills.

How to Apply -

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

If you meet our minimum eligibility criteria, we will ask you to complete an online behaviour and cognitive assessment by a deadline.


If you meet the required standard, we'll ask you to complete an online written exercise to test your Legal Skills by a deadline. We will give you all the necessary information, including about the relevant law, to enable you to complete this. If you pass the written exercise, we'll invite you to interview by a video conference call. If you do not have access to video with audio availability, we may withdraw you from the process.

We reserve the right to raise the score required at any stage of the process in order to manage numbers.

Interview

Technical: Legal Skills.

• At interview we will ask you questions based on the same legal scenario based on your answers provided to the online written exercise, following additional information prior to interview.

Behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Motivational Fit:

We will ask you about your motivation for the job.

Interviews will take place via video link. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

If you are successful, we'll appoint you to the most suitable vacancy available at the time of our offer. We may hold a reserve list if we have more successful candidates after interview than we have available vacancies.

Eligibility

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days(Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, please contact us via: [email protected] - Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example - 'Please re-open my application - [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date]'.

To check that you are eligible to apply for this role, please review the eligibility information before submitting your application.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles - if this applies to you, we'll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account.

Merit List

After interview, a single merit list will be created, and you will only be considered for posts in locations you have expressed a preference for. Appointments will be made in strict merit order in line with the set number of roles in each location.

Criminal Record Check

Applications received from candidates with a criminal record are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.

Hybrid working at HMRC

HMRC is an office-based organisation, and colleagues are expected to spend 60% of their working time in the office. Our offices provide opportunity for interaction, collaboration which aids learning and development and a sense of community. Where the role allows it, and where the home environment is suitable, colleagues can work from home for up to 2 days a week, averaged over a calendar month (or a proportionate amount of time for colleagues who work less than full time).

Reasonable Adjustments

We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact the UBS Recruitment team via [email protected] as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the "Assistance required" section in the "Additional requirements" page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers:

This role may be suitable for existing HMRC employees who are contractual homeworkers. Occasional attendance to the office will be required where there is a business need. Please consider the advertised office locations for this role when applying and only select locations from the 'location preferences' section that you can travel to.

Terms and Conditions

Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process.

HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences.

Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process.

Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations.

Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band.

Please note that, if you are applying for roles on a part-time basis, the salary agreed will be pro-rata, reflective of the working hours agreed within your contract.

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

For more Information for people applying for, or thinking of applying for, roles at HM Revenue and Customs, please see link: Working for HMRC: information for applicants - GOV.UK.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).