Employment Lawyer - 4-6 years PQE in Belfast

We are seeking an experienced Employment Lawyer with 4–6 years PQE to join our market‑leading Employment Practice in a newly established team in Belfast. You will work primarily with our London office but also across the region and globally. Our Employment team handles the full range of domestic and international employment matters for blue‑chip and global clients across financial services, TMT, pharmaceuticals, transport, consumer and retail sectors. This role offers the chance to be part of a new team in Belfast while working closely with our London colleagues on high‑profile domestic instructions, complex litigation, and strategic HR advisory work. You will also engage in global projects and transactions.

Baker McKenzie is the world’s leading law firm with offices worldwide. Our Belfast Centre hosts over 400 colleagues in both legal and professional services. We offer a comprehensive benefits package including private health cover, income protection, life assurance, and a full employee assistance plan. Our commitment to inclusivity, diversity and equity creates an exceptional career environment.

About the role

The successful candidate will:

• Responsibilities
• Transactions: Advising on diligence reviews and preparing diligence reports; advising on global business carve‑outs ahead of sales and post‑acquisition integrations; advising on TUPE application and related consequences, including protection against dismissal, changes to terms and conditions, election of worker representatives and protective awards; advising on TUPE information and consultation requirements; drafting and negotiating relevant provisions in core transactional documentation and advising on associated matters as required; advising on redundancy situations and the requirements of individual and collective redundancy procedures; advising on domestic issues such as pooling and selection criteria application.
• Multi‑jurisdictional projects: Working within a team on global or multi‑jurisdictional projects such as restructuring, global policy or contract reviews, pay equity reviews and other compliance initiatives; co‑ordinating and reviewing global advice to prepare centralised advice to clients.
• Litigation: Managing Employment Tribunal claims, including unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing and equal pay claims; conducting disclosure exercises; preparing ET3 forms, Grounds of Resistance and witness statements; advising on and negotiating settlements; advising on the enforceability of restrictive covenants.
• Investigations: Conducting fact‑finding investigations into employee allegations, including grievances and whistleblowing; advising on investigation procedures and scoping.
• Data Subject Access Requests: Advising on applicable search terms in response to data subject access requests; reviewing and redacting documents as required; travelling as necessary.

Skills and Experience

• Qualified solicitor in Northern Ireland and/or England and Wales with excellent academics and demonstrable employment experience from a leading practice.
• Strong commercial mindset, a team player, and the ability to build excellent client relationships.
• Capability to work well both independently and with colleagues at various experience levels.
• Sound commercial awareness and a client‑first service orientation.
• Ability to set high performance standards and deliver desired results.
• Self‑starter who is collaborative, pragmatic, commercial, and adaptable.
• Strong prioritisation skills and deadline management.

About Baker McKenzie

With 13,000 people worldwide, including over 6,500 locally admitted lawyers, Baker McKenzie has a passionately collaborative community of 60 nationalities. We are committed to world‑class career development and offer an uncompromising commitment to excellence paired with a collaborative, globally integrated working environment.