Employment Legal Counsel / Senior Employment Paralegal

Employment Legal Counsel / Senior Employment Paralegal

Temporary Contract: September 2026 - 31 December 2026

Location: London / Hybrid

Industry: Media & Entertainment

Please note: This role is to start ASAP - you must be immediately available.

The Opportunity

A leading global media and entertainment business is looking for an experienced Senior Employment Legal professional to join its international employment and compliance function on an interim contract basis.

This role would suit a Senior Employment Paralegal, Legal Counsel or Newly Qualified Employment Lawyer who has strong UK employment law experience and is looking to broaden their exposure to international employment matters within a fast-paced, global organisation.

Working closely with the Executive Director, International Employment & Compliance, you will support a broad range of employee-related legal matters across the UK and international markets, partnering closely with the People Team and wider Legal function.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day support and advice across a broad range of UK and international employment law matters.
• Support employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance and performance processes.
• Assist with employee investigations across UK, European and APAC markets.
• Support individual and collective consultation processes, including redundancy and restructuring exercises.
• Advise on employment documentation, contracts, policies, exits and other employee lifecycle matters.
• Partner closely with People Team stakeholders to provide pragmatic, commercially focused employment law advice.
• Support workforce representation matters, including works councils and other employee representative bodies.
• Monitor legal and regulatory developments and advise on their impact on policies, processes and employment practices.

About You

We are particularly interested in candidates coming from one of the following backgrounds:

• Senior Employment Paralegal with significant hands-on UK employment law experience.
• Newly Qualified Employment Lawyer with strong UK employment experience gained in private practice or in-house.
• Employment Legal Counsel with around
• 2+ years' PQE and exposure to international employment matters.

Key Requirements

• London based with full UK working rights.
• Qualified as a lawyer in the UK, Australia or New Zealand, or an experienced senior employment paralegal with equivalent practical expertise.
• Strong, demonstrable experience of UK employment law is essential, regardless of jurisdiction of qualification.
• Experience advising on employee relations, investigations, disciplinary and grievance matters, redundancies/restructuring and employment documentation.
• Exposure to international employment law matters, particularly across Europe and/or APAC, is highly desirable.
• Comfortable working with People/HR teams and senior business stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex legal issues into clear, practical and commercially focused advice.

This is an excellent opportunity for a Senior Employment Paralegal or Newly Qualified Employment Lawyer to gain broad international exposure and work closely with a senior employment legal function within a globally recognised creative business.

Handle actively welcomes applicants from under-represented backgrounds - we pride ourselves on attracting the best talent for every opportunity through a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.