Overview
Head of Legal, Employment – Whitbread – Dunstable. Location: Hybrid role – minimum 3 days per week in office at Whitbread Court, Dunstable (LU5 5XE) with some working in Holborn, London (EC1N 2TD). Whitbread is the UK’s largest hospitality business with over 1,200 hotels and restaurants across the UK. We are committed to inclusion and diversity and have been recognised as a Top Employer for 14 consecutive years.
We are recruiting a Head of Legal - Employment reporting to the Legal Director. You will sit on the People Committee, collaborating with the Chief People Officer and team to develop and deliver the People strategy, support business growth, and partner with external legal providers to establish a new panel to support the business and deliver cost savings. The role will advise the CEO and executive team on people initiatives and decisions, with a primary UK and Ireland focus and involvement in international strategy with the Germany team. This is Whitbread’s first in-house Head of Legal - Employment role to support our UK and international growth.
What You’ll Do
* You will act as the senior legal contact for all employment law matters across Whitbread’s UK, Ireland and Germany sites, providing expert advice to the business and the Executive Committee on all employment legal matters and consequences.
* Provide practical commercial and strategic legal advice on contentious and potentially contentious employment matters; assess risks from complaints and develop legally sound strategies in the best interests of the business.
* Participate in the development of legally sound policies and programmes in all areas of UK Labour and employment law.
* Oversee regular reviews of the employee handbook, contracts of employment and other legal documents and policies.
* Oversee the procurement of external legal advice on people-related matters, in partnership with the Group General Counsel and Chief People Officer, and manage these relationships to meet cost needs and SLA performance.
* Advise on employment immigration issues, sponsorship and license matters, ensuring legal compliance with immigration requirements.
What You’ll Need
* Hold a practising certificate from the Solicitors Regulation Authority with at least 5 years post-qualification experience specialising in UK Employment Law, gained as a director or Senior Associate in a law firm or in a Head of Legal/Senior Legal Counsel role within a multi-site organisation with a similar employee base.
* Good working knowledge of UK Employment laws and regulations.
* Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present complex legal information clearly to a wide range of stakeholders.
* Proven ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
* Extensive stakeholder management and engagement capability across all levels of the business up to Executive/Board level and external legal advisers, with the ability to build durable relationships to achieve better results.
* Solutions-focused, pragmatic and commercial, with the ability to identify opportunities for improvement and facilitate implementation of creative solutions that enhance service provision.
We believe that everyone is unique and there should be no barriers to entry and no limits to ambition. We are committed to being an inclusive organisation that values diversity and welcomes your application whatever your background or situation. Under-represented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Speak to us about workplace adjustments, part-time and flexible working. Where possible we will support this.
Job ref: 74106-4492
Advertised: 04 Jun 2025
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