Support Assistant – Trade Union Law Group in Manchester

Join the fight for working people. Thompsons Solicitors is looking for a driven and highly organised Support Assistant to join our renowned Trade Union Law Group (TULG). If you’re passionate about justice, thrive in a fast-paced legal environment, and want to be part of a team that stands shoulder to shoulder with trade unions, this is your opportunity to make a real impact. You will work on some of the most exciting cases in the world of employment law and gain invaluable experience. The Team conducts litigation in all forums up to and including in the Supreme Court where it won three cases last year and advises on a wide range of industrial disputes.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Provide high-level executive support to team on a wide range of high profile legal cases.
• Have client contact in the litigation process by email and over the phone.
• Manage diaries, and confidential communications.
• Coordinate internal and external events and marketing materials.
• Ensure smooth day-to-day operations of the Unit.

What You’ll Bring

• Legal administrative experience and strong organisational skills.
• Excellent communication and client care abilities.
• Confidence using Microsoft Office, including Excel, and case management systems.
• A proactive, adaptable attitude and empathy with the trade union movement.

Benefits

• Contributory pension scheme.
• 23 days’ annual leave + bank holidays.
• 5 additional days off over Christmas.
• Permanent health insurance.
• Healthcare Cash Plan (Medicash).
• Life assurance.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Enhanced maternity & paternity pay.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Sports & social club.
• Annual travel & parking loans.
• Financial support for professional development.

About Thompsons Solicitors

For 100 years, leading social justice law firm, Thompsons Solicitors, has been fighting for the rights of the injured and mistreated and changing lives for the better. Since 1921, we have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with trade unions to implement key legal reforms and give a voice to those who might otherwise have been disadvantaged and marginalised.

Thompsons ran:

• the case that established the right for injured workers to be compensated in 1937.
• the first asbestos case that was successful in the House of Lords in 1972.
• the first equal pay for equal value claim in the UK (1988) and later in Europe (1993).
• the case against UK construction companies for blacklisting union members in 2016.
• hundreds of cases on behalf of women who received negligent treatment at the hands of disgraced breast surgeon, Ian Paterson (2017) and on behalf of those injured by mesh (2019).

Today, Thompsons employs 800 staff who work at 18 offices right across the UK. Key areas of legal specialism include: personal injury, serious injury, asbestos diseases, medical negligence, road traffic accidents, accidents at work, industrial diseases and trade union law. As a point of principle, the firm has never worked for employers or insurers.

Over the last 100 years, we have consistently won the cases that have advanced the law for working people, but, as long as there are employers who put profit before the safety and rights of their workforce, there is always more to do. We continue to expose injustice, holding those responsible to account and campaigning for positive change. We want to hear from anyone who is keen to progress a legal career with a firm that won’t let up in its quest for fairness.