Legal assessor in Edinburgh

The appointment term is 4 years. There is no minimum time commitment or guarantee of a minimum number of days that you will attend. The frequency of attendance will depend on our caseload. You will be expected to provide a reasonable level of availability and flexibility in order to facilitate the hearing/meeting scheduling process. The majority of the Fitness to Teach Hearings and Panel Meetings are conducted virtually. However, there will be a need to travel to our office in Edinburgh for Hearings and Panel Meetings that are required to be held in person.

Fees

• For attendance as a legal assessor at a Panel hearing or meeting or similar, including preparation, and reviewing a written decision where applicable: £650 per full day; £325 per half day; £100 per hour for less than half a day, all plus VAT.
• For drafting written decisions: £150 plus VAT per each associated Panel hearing or meeting day (or £75 plus VAT per half day).
• Reading fee (when total number of pages for a Panel hearing or meeting exceeds 500 pages): £100 plus VAT.
• If a Panel hearing or meeting or similar is cancelled with less than one week's notice, up until the day before the hearing, meeting or similar: £200 plus VAT (only paid if consequential loss of earnings is evidenced).

About Us

We are the General Teaching Council for Scotland. We work to maintain and enhance trust in teaching. We set and uphold the standards for entering and remaining in the teaching profession, and outline the conduct expected of teachers and college lecturers. We also investigate and determine serious concerns about the conduct or professional competence of teachers through our Fitness to Teach process.

Our values

• Trust and Respect – All of us are equally important. We seek out and listen to others' views. We support each other and build positive working relationships.
• Integrity – We do what we say we will. We deliver on our plans and effectively communicate with others. We are committed to continually learning and improving.
• Social Justice – We embrace diversity. We understand the importance of positive wellbeing and seek to support each other and our registrants. We want you to feel like you belong.

The role

We are currently looking for legal assessors to provide independent legal advice during our Fitness to Teach hearings. The role involves providing independent legal advice to our Fitness to Teach panels and leading in the decision writing process.

What We Are Looking For

In accordance with our governing legislation, a Legal Assessor must be an advocate or solicitor of not less than 10 years' standing. We are looking to appoint individual solicitors or advocates as Legal Assessors within our fitness to teach process for a 4 year term. We don't expect perfection. If you don't meet 100% of the requirements but you share our values and you believe you have the potential to be successful in the role we encourage you to still apply. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team where people can bring their whole selves to work. We want to recruit the best people for the role, irrespective of their background. We use a recruitment platform which aims to reduce any unconscious bias.

Why apply?

Contribute to improving the quality of teaching and learning in Scotland. Learning is one of our core principles. This appointment provides an opportunity to gain a deep understanding of professional regulation, the Code of Professionalism and Conduct (COPAC) and Professional Standards and how these are applied in practice.

Application and selection process

Please visit our listing on our website to apply via the Applied recruitment platform by the closing date of 9:00am Tuesday 7 April 2026. The link is available at the bottom of our webpage. There you will also have access to example legal assessor terms of appointment, the application pack and information recording. Please note that you will require a brief CV. There will be no interviews and candidates will be appointed after screening of the applications and CV.