Counsel, Offboarding and Litigation (EMEA) in Watford

We are seeking an EMEA Counsel, Offboarding and Litigation to take full ownership of offboarding, pre-litigation, and litigation matters across EMEA regions, while serving as the in-house specialist on regional employment law, statutory due process, and dispute resolution. You will ensure every termination and contentious matter is handled with legal rigor, commercial sensibility, and audit-ready documentation.

You will represent the company in EMEA offboardings, agency proceedings, litigation, employment tribunal hearings, and works council consultations, while simultaneously partnering with internal stakeholders and external counsel to strengthen offboarding frameworks. You will also work closely with the Product team to translate legal requirements and lessons learned from live cases into platform improvements that reduce risk and scale compliance.

The ideal candidate brings deep employment litigation expertise in at least one core or EMEA jurisdiction, the ability to navigate complex multi-jurisdiction matters across both regions, and a proactive, solution-oriented mindset suited to a fast-paced, client-facing global environment.

• Own offboarding, pre-litigation, and litigation matters end to end across EMEA, including for-cause terminations, redundancies, reductions in force, mutual separations, and contentious exits.
• Lead disciplinary and consultation processes, manage statutory filings, and represent the company in agency proceedings (e.g., EEOC, NLRB, state labor agencies, ACAS, employment tribunals, labor inspectorates, and works council consultations).
• Conduct case intake, fact-finding, and compliance risk assessments across EMEA employee relations matters.
• Guide internal teams and clients through statutory due process from notice through final settlement and clearance.
• Lead or support disciplinary hearings, conciliation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation proceedings across EMEA, advising on disciplinary sanctions and resolution strategy.
• Review termination notices, separation agreements, position statements, and supporting evidence across EMEA to ensure they are defensible and aligned with local labor laws and jurisprudence.
• Assess litigation exposure across EMEA (reinstatement, back pay, statutory and compensatory damages, settlement value), develop hearing strategy, and provide commercially-framed updates to internal stakeholders.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for external counsel across EMEA, validating scope, negotiating fees and timelines, and ensuring quality control on deliverables.
• Partner with HR Advisory, Customer Success, Sales, Payroll, Onboarding, and Legal teams to strengthen offboarding processes and improve client outcomes.
• Review product requirements for offboarding, disciplinary, and termination workflows, validate alignment with local laws, and flag statutory changes requiring system updates.
• Support ad hoc legal and cross-functional projects, including escalations, EMEA-wide compliance initiatives, and process automation efforts.

• Law degree (JD, LLB, or equivalent) and active admission to the Bar (or equivalent qualifying body) in the EMEA jurisdiction, in good standing.
• 6–10 years of post-qualification experience in employment law in EMEA, with substantial first-chair experience handling agency proceedings, employment tribunals, arbitrations, and disciplinary or grievance hearings.
• Demonstrated litigation track record, including drafting position statements and pleadings, witness preparation, hearing advocacy, and assessing exposure on reinstatement, back pay, and damages.
• Deep working knowledge of EMEA labor regulations on termination, due process, and unfair or wrongful dismissal.
• Working familiarity with employment law and offboarding processes across multiple EMEA jurisdictions, with the ability to come up to speed quickly on new markets.
• Proven experience managing employee lifecycle matters, including PIPs, disciplinary actions, workplace investigations, and for-cause and redundancy terminations.
• Strong experience instructing and managing external counsel, including scoping, fee negotiation, and quality review.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Operations, HR, and commercial teams, and to engage clients confidently.
• Strong written and verbal English communication skills, with sound judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to translate legal complexity into clear commercial guidance.
• Additional working proficiency in another EMEA language (e.g., Spanish, French, German, Portuguese) is a plus.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced, client-facing global environment.