Employment - Paralegal

Nockolds is an award-winning law firm driven by a genuine passion for providing exceptional service and delivering the highest quality legal advice while staying true to the values that have shaped us.

We pride ourselves on forming strong, lasting connections with our clients, built on trust, understanding and a commitment to supporting them whenever they need us. Many of our clients return to us time and again because of the personal relationships we’ve developed.

As a leading Legal 500 and Chambers Law firm with offices in Bishop’s Stortford, London, and Spain, we are proud of the reputation we’ve built. Our history spans more than 190 years, but we continue to grow and evolve cementing our reputation for delivering exceptional results across a wide range of practice areas. Joining Nockolds means being part of a dynamic, growing, and forward-thinking organisation dedicated to excellence in legal practice and client services.

Our culture is at the heart of everything we do, it’s enabled us to expand whilst remaining a friendly, supportive, and inclusive environment where you can grow, feel valued, and be encouraged to bring your best self to work every day. We are listed in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For and have held the “We Invest in People - Gold” accreditation since 2012 and recently attained the “We Invest in Wellbeing - Silver” award, reflecting our genuine commitment to our people.

We firmly believe our staff are our most important asset. Our philosophy is simple: when we look after our people, they look after our clients.

At Nockolds, our culture is driven through our values. These are an important part of the firm and were shaped by our people and lived by us all:

• We are Professional - we are excellent at what we do and committed to providing the highest standard of service.
• We are Approachable - we pride ourselves on the strong relationships we build with our clients.
• We are Dynamic - proud of our history but we are always moving forward.
• We have Integrity - quite simply, we believe in always doing the right thing.

We also care about the community around us. Through our charity initiatives and work with local schools and businesses, we aim to make a positive difference. Diversity is a core part of who we are, and we’re proud that over 40% of our partnership is made up of women.

About the Role

To provide high-quality legal and administrative support to the Employment Law team, assisting with contentious and non-contentious employment matters under appropriate supervision while delivering an efficient, commercially aware and client-focused service.

You will be responsible for:

• Undertake employment-law research using approved legal research resources and prepare clear, concise research notes.
• Assist with employer and employee matters, including disciplinary and grievance procedures, redundancy, discrimination, whistleblowing, family-related rights, sickness absence, performance management, restrictive covenants and TUPE.
• Prepare first drafts of routine correspondence, employment contracts, policies, staff handbooks, settlement agreements and other employment documentation for review by the supervising lawyer.
• Assist with ACAS early conciliation and Employment Tribunal proceedings, including preparing chronologies, lists of issues, draft witness statements, schedules of loss, disclosure documents and hearing bundles.
• Check factual and legal documents carefully for accuracy, consistency, completeness and compliance with instructions.
• Attend client meetings, conferences and hearings where requested, taking accurate notes and recording agreed actions.
• Identify legal, procedural, ethical or evidential issues and elevate them promptly to the supervising lawyer.
• Keep up to date with relevant developments in employment law and procedure and contribute to the team’s know-how resources.
• Open, maintain and close files in accordance with the firm’s procedures, including conflict, client due diligence and source-of-funds requirements where applicable.
• Maintain accurate, complete and orderly electronic records, including attendance notes, correspondence, documents, key dates and next actions.
• Monitor Employment Tribunal, ACAS, court and internal deadlines and alert the supervising lawyer to forthcoming deadlines or conflicts at an early stage.
• Assist with disclosure, document review, pagination, indexing, bundle preparation and secure document transfer.
• Plan and prioritise multiple activities, communicate workload pressures and provide regular progress updates.
• Protect client confidentiality and comply with security, data protection, retention and destruction requirements.
• Take accurate instructions and identify the client’s objectives, subject to appropriate supervision.
• Communicate clearly, professionally and sensitively with clients, colleagues, ACAS, tribunals, counsel, witnesses and other stakeholders.
• Prepare legal analysis, draft advice and proposed options for review by the supervising lawyer and communicate approved advice where authorised.
• Recognise the needs of vulnerable clients and make or recommend appropriate adjustments in accordance with firm procedures.
• Deliver work within agreed timescales and promptly elevate any issue that may affect service, cost, risk or outcome.
• Treat all clients and stakeholders fairly and support equality of access and service.
• Record time accurately, promptly and in accordance with team and firm requirements.
• Work with an awareness of scope, budgets, cost proportionality, recoverability and matter economics.
• Notify the supervising lawyer promptly if work is likely to exceed the agreed scope, estimate or budget.
• Assist with billing information, work in progress reviews and other matter-management tasks as requested.
• Assist with employment-law updates, newsletters, articles, seminars, webinars, training materials and client briefings.
• Support pitches, proposals, events and other marketing or business development activity.
• Use social media to promote the team and firm in accordance with firm policy and professional obligations.
• Represent the firm positively and contribute ideas for improving the team’s services, processes and use of technology.
• Comply with the firm’s policies and procedures, including Lexcel requirements and applicable quality standards.
• Act honestly and with integrity and comply with applicable legal and regulatory obligations, including the SRA Principles and relevant Codes of Conduct.
• Recognise conflicts of interest, confidentiality concerns, data incidents, undertakings, complaints and other risk issues, and report them immediately through the appropriate channels.
• Use the case management system, Microsoft 365, digital dictation and approved legal technology competently.
• Use artificial intelligence and other emerging technology only where approved and in accordance with firm policies on confidentiality, verification, supervision and professional responsibility.
• Take responsibility for continuing development in discussion with the line manager and supervising lawyers.
• Engage with mentoring, training, feedback and coaching provided by the firm.
• Actively pursue any agreed qualification or development pathway, where relevant.
• Contribute to team meetings and activities, share learning and support colleagues where workloads require.
• Remain aware of the limits of competence and seek guidance before undertaking unfamiliar or higher-risk work.

About You

You will be a highly organised and detail-oriented individual with a genuine interest in employment law and a commitment to delivering high-quality work. You'll have excellent research, analytical and communication skills, with the ability to handle sensitive and confidential matters professionally and with sound judgement. Proactive, resilient and adaptable, you'll be comfortable managing competing priorities, working independently and as part of a team, and building positive relationships with clients and stakeholders. You'll be confident using technology, eager to learn and develop, and motivated by providing practical support in a fast-paced, client-focused legal environment.

Benefits Package

• 25 days holiday (fte) plus Bank Holidays, rising to or 31 days
• Private Healthcare offered through Vitality or SimplyHealth
• Royal London Pension Scheme (4% employer/4% employee, rising to 6% after 10 years’ service)
• Annual Discretionary Bonus Scheme
• Salary Sacrifice (Pensions, Electric Car Scheme, Cycle to Work Scheme)
• Life Assurance - 4 x salary
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay
• Hybrid Working Policy

Nockolds has embraced a hybrid working model where our colleagues enjoy a mix of home and office working. We welcome applications from people looking for flexible and part-time roles and we are happy to explore your preferred working patterns as part of your application.

Nockolds is committed to your development and we provide clear pathways for career progression supported by a comprehensive learning and development plan.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Nockolds Solicitors is committed to being an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive firm that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.

The use of AI

At Nockolds we do not use artificial intelligence (AI) to screen, judge, reject, or approve any recruitment decisions, at any stage of our recruitment process. Our hiring managers and HR team are responsible for all recruitment decisions, ensuring a personal and thoughtful approach to each candidate.

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