Corporate Lawyer / Employment Legal Counsel
HCA Healthcare UK
Location: London (Hybrid)
Reports to: General Counsel / Senior Legal Counsel
About HCA Healthcare UK
HCA Healthcare UK is the country’s largest provider of privately funded healthcare, delivering exceptional patient care for over 50 years. Across our network of world‑class hospitals, specialist centres, diagnostics facilities and outpatient clinics, we invest heavily in the latest clinical technologies, medical expertise, quality, and innovation.
As part of a global healthcare group, our people benefit from unparalleled opportunities for career progression, professional development and exposure to complex, high‑profile healthcare work.
This is your opportunity to play a key role in protecting our organisation, empowering our people leaders, and shaping the future of employment law and corporate governance across a trusted healthcare organisation.
The Role
We are seeking an experienced Employment Legal Counsel to join our in‑house legal function. You will provide expert, pragmatic, and solutions‑oriented legal advice across a wide range of employment matters within our UK hospital network and corporate operations.
Partnering closely with HR, senior leadership, operations, governance, and clinical teams, you will deliver confident guidance that supports safe, compliant, forward‑thinking workforce practice within a complex healthcare environment.
You will provide expert guidance across the full spectrum of employment law matters. This includes advising on whistleblowing, grievances, disciplinary and appeal processes; supporting DPA requests in partnership with our Data Protection team; and leading on redundancy, restructuring and TUPE activities.
In addition, you’ll support the business with ACAS processes and Early Conciliation, redeployment, restrictive covenants, DBS requirements, equal pay, employment contract principles, and family‑related leave including maternity, paternity and parental leave.
Key Responsibilities
Act as a legal escalation point for senior leaders on complex, high risk organisational decisions.
Provide strategic and operational advice on employment issues, including performance management, disciplinary matters, grievances, restructures, TUPE, and organisational change programmes.
Support HR with policy development, risk assessment, and complex employee relations cases.
Lead on employment tribunal strategy, claims management, and external counsel engagement.
Reviewing and drafting (in conjunction with members of the HR team) contracts of employment and (in conjunction with other members of the legal team) consultancy and services agreements, policies, procedures and employee handbooks.
Drafting, reviewing and advising on settlement agreements and negotiations (liaising with the HR and tax teams, as required).
Preparing and managing Employment Tribunal (and any Employment Appeal Tribunal or higher court) cases and appeals, including appearing at Preliminary Hearings as necessary, as well as any employment-related matters at other courts.
Attending hearings and preliminary hearings, with support from external counsel where agreed.
Assist with general litigation and other related matters with support from other members of the legal team. This could include clinical negligence, clinical governance, personal injury, debt, contractual disputes, regulatory issues, inquests, complaints, interpretation of policies, crisis management and press issues, healthcare issues, policy review, professional indemnity issues, data protection, ethical and compliance concerns, and insurance matters.
Skills and experience:
Essential:
Qualified solicitor (England & Wales) with strong post qualification experience in Employment Law
Post-qualification experience gained in a law firm and/or in an in-house role
Experience advising senior stakeholders on complex legal and organisational risk.
Proven ability to balance legal rigour with commercial pragmatism.
Excellent communication, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
Experience of drafting employment law related documentation
Experience representing clients/companies at meetings or in court
Desirable:
Experience of working within healthcare, regulated, or multi-site environment.