Legal Officer
Role Overview
Justice Matters
| Justice Matters
What the courts and tribunals do every
day is supremely important. States
without justice do not function; the
rule of law is one of the things that
makes us civilized and lets us live life
knowing that there are fundamental
underpinnings of fairness.
At HMCTS, we play a crucial role in running of
a fair, accessible and efficient justice system.
We are responsible for the administration of
criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in
England and Wales.
We’re always looking to recruit into our
exceptional legal team to make a difference.
Legal Officers, across England and Wales have
played, and will continue to play, a valuable
and vital part in our justice system.
Legal Officers, across England and Wales have
played, and will continue to play, a valuable
and vital part in our recovery efforts’
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| What does a
Legal Officer do?
Legal Officers play a hugely important
role in helping Tribunals run smoothly and
efficiently. We’re looking to expand our
numbers to allow us to take on new areas of
work as our experience continues to grow.
As part of the Legal Officer team, you’ll get the opportunity
to make decisions and help find the best way to move appeals
forward. You’ll learn about the Tribunal Rules, and communicate
with our users to help them understand what we need from
them to progress their case - it’s a challenging and rewarding
role which allows you to make a difference. We’re always looking
for new ideas, and you’ll be able to build relationships with
other Legal Officers from across the country and get involved in
working groups to help make improvements to the service we
deliver.
The work done by a Legal Officer varies depending on the
jurisdiction they’re working in; it can include, but is not limited
to, making decisions on applications to postpone hearings,
considering whether time extensions to file evidence or comply
with the Tribunal Rules should be granted, triaging cases to
assess whether they’re ready to list for hearing or making
directions to progress a case. In some areas, Legal Officers chair
case management appointments/discussions with the parties to
the appeal.
Legal Officers work closely with both the Tribunal administrative
teams and the judiciary and are allocated a mentor judge who
will support their training and development.
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| Fact File - Legal Officer
Band: Higher Executive Officer (HEO)
Contract Type: Permanent
Salary: £34,140 pa (National) to £38,661 pa (London)
“The role of a Legal Officer is
pivotal to the smooth running of the
Role overview:
What qualifications/experience do I need?
Tribunal. There are many Tribunals,
Working within a Courts & Tribunals Service Centre or
There are no formal qualification requirements, though a
covering a wide range of areas
Regional Hearing Centre, the Legal Officer will support the
law degree or equivalent technical experience is desirable.
affecting day-to-day life.
effective administration of Tribunals business by undertaking
Equivalent technical experience has been defined as: “The
a range of complex case work and assessment activity in
demonstration of a transferable decision-making aptitude,
The First-tier Tribunal hears appeals from citizens
order to determine how best to advance caseloads and
working within a set framework or guidance and previous
against decisions made by Government departments
remove any barriers to effective and timely case progression.
precedents, under a form of supervision." Legal Officers
or agencies, while proceedings in the Property
Working closely with judiciary, legal professionals and
demonstrate a variety of skills, from drafting and verbal
Chamber are on a party v party basis as are
Tribunal administration teams, the Legal Officer will
communication to teamwork and problem solving. If you can
proceedings in the Employment Tribunal. As a legal
undertake initial assessments on a range of incoming Tribunal
demonstrate these skills and have an interest in the law and
officer you are responsible for the case management
work, including case files, applications and correspondence in
delivering justice, the Legal Officer role may be for you.
of an appeal using delegated judicial powers to make
order to establish the level of authority and expertise needed
Full training is provided to all new recruits, and there are
decisions and progress the appeal as you determine
to address the case and determine the most effective route
opportunities to study for formal legal qualifications/
best.
for case progression. Working to delegated judicial functions
apprenticeships. The Legal Officer Career Progression group
Although it is not necessary to have a law degree, (a
and working to directions from the judiciary, the Legal Officer
continuously looks for ways to help Legal Officers develop.
good legal knowledge or) relevant technical experience
will provide ongoing and proactive management of caseloads,
is vital to the job to help you deal with appeals justly."
identifying any barriers or risks to effective case progression
and developing interventions or actions to resolve these,
Zaynab Hussain - Legal Officer, Immigration
liaising with a range of stakeholders and the public.
and Asylum Chamber, Bradford
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| What’s involved in the role?
“Legal Officers (LOs) have responsibility for a wide
“As a Legal Officer you will work closely with the judiciary
range of case management decisions throughout
and tribunal administration teams providing proactive
the appeal process"
management of caseloads."
These decisions range from ensuring an appeal is valid right through to ensuring hearing
“You will start by learning the law, appeal process and observing hearings within your
requirements are captured in preparation for the substantive hearing. You will be
jurisdiction to allow you to identify barriers to effective case progression, and what
using your delegated judicial powers to make complex decisions and draft directions
interventions or actions are required to resolve these.
for the parties to comply with. In some jurisdictions, LOs can hold case management
Once authorised, you will work to delegated judicial functions and directions from the
appointments with the parties to resolve any issues. Effective case management
judiciary making decisions on applications from the parties such as postponing hearings,
is really important to ensure appeals progress through the system and to prevent
withdrawing proceedings or extending/varying time to comply with an aspect of the
adjournments at the substantive hearing. We have LOs across 10 jurisdictions including
procedure rules.
Employment Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber and Mental Health. Each
jurisdiction has different delegations but at the core of all of the jurisdictions is the need
You will have the benefit of a mentor judge who will
to settle disputes as efficiently as possible.
support you in your role and if you wish to obtain legal
You will have a judicial mentor to guide your decision
qualifications, we may be able to fund this through an
making and provide you with training on the law.
apprenticeship programme.
The judiciary are always incredibly approachable and willing to help with any questions
There are also opportunities to progress your career as I have done from Legal Officer to
on using delegated powers. You will report to a Senior Legal Officer (SLO) who will
Senior Legal Officer and now Legal Team Manager.
monitor your progress, provide feedback and give you the support you need to be
effective in your role. LOs can also apply for a place on the Level 3 or Level 6 CILEx
Louise Hayhurst - Legal Team Manager (Tribunals)
apprenticeship to gain more knowledge of the law and to improve legal skills.
I completed the Level 6 apprenticeship and found it particularly useful to improve my
drafting skills. I started as an LO before progressing to SLO and, upon completing my
apprenticeship, I successfully applied for a Legal Team Manager role.
Katie Agada - Legal Team Manager (Tribunals)
5
| How do I apply?
Legal Officer roles will be advertised via the Civil Service Jobs website: www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk. You can sign up for job
alerts to be notified about new vacancies.
The selection process will use the Civil Service Success
The STAR method
During your interview you will be asked questions to
Profiles Framework which assesses the behaviours, strengths
•
Situation - Describe the situation you found yourself in.
understand whether you have strengths relevant to the job
and potential of candidates. The Civil Service is a diverse and
You must describe a specific event or situation and not
role. It is important to remember that there are no right or
inclusive workplace, and we want to help you demonstrate
provide a general description of your job/skills.
wrong answers to these questions. Do not rehearse your
your full potential throughout the assessment process.
answers because we are looking for your initial response.
•
Task - We want to understand what task you had to
Behaviour questions
complete and why. Tell us what you tried to achieve from
The qualities required for the role will be described in the job
description and the best way to prepare is to reflect on what
Behaviours are assessed at both application and interview
the situation you found yourself in.
you feel your personal strengths are and your preferred ways
stage. When looking at behaviours, we want to get an
•
Actions - What did you do? We will be looking for
of working.
understanding of the actions/activities you have undertaken
evidence of what you did, how you did it and why. Keep
in the past which have resulted in a successful outcome. We
the focus on you; what specific steps did you take and
Your strengths will be assessed alongside the other elements
are looking for answers which follow the CAR/STAR approach,
what was your contribution? Remember to include how
of the Success Profile to get a more rounded picture of your
as outlined below.
you did it, and the behaviours you used. Try to use “I"
suitability for the role. The job description will outline the
rather than “we" to explain the actions you took that led
elements required for the role.
The CAR method
to the result.
Reasonable Adjustments
•
Context - Explain the situation; what, where and when.
•
Results - Don’t be shy about taking credit for your
Simply describe the challenge that you faced. Give the
If you require any reasonable adjustments to our recruitment
behaviour. It may help to provide specific facts and
reader some background, just enough to set the scene.
process, please let the recruiting manager know. Examples
figures. What results did the actions produce? What did
of adjustments include providing documents in large print or
•
Actions - Make sure that you explain how you did
you achieve through your actions and did you meet your
braille, allowing more time for a test or interview or providing
something, not just what you did. What action or steps
goals? Was it a successful outcome? If not, what did you
assistance at an assessment centre.
did you take? How did you do it? For some examples,
learn from the experience?
this might be quite detailed so try to summarise as best
Keep the “situation" and “task" parts brief and concentrate
Reserve Lists
as you can.
on the action and the result. If the result was not entirely
If we receive applications from more suitable candidates
•
Results - What was the outcome? What results did
successful, describe what you learned and what you would do
than we have vacancies for at the time, we may hold suitable
you achieve? Use numbers and percentages whenever
differently next time. Make sure you focus on your strengths.
applicants on a reserve list for 12 months for any future Legal
possible. If the result was not positive, describe what you
Officer vacancies. In these circumstances, roles would be
learned.
Strengths questions
offered to candidates on the list without having to re-apply.
When looking at your strengths and abilities, we want to find
out whether you and the organisation/job role are a good fit.
We will look at what you enjoy doing and what you do well
and often.
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| Terms, conditions and benefits
Personal Development
Staff Wellbeing
Modernised Terms and Conditions
We take your development seriously and want to enable you to
Subject to business needs, we offer flexible working arrangements,
Civil Servants taking up appointment on promotion will
build a successful career within the department or the wider Civil
including part-time or term-time working. We also offer generous
adopt the modernised Civil Service terms and conditions
Service. It is crucial that our employees have the right skills to
paid maternity and paternity leave.
which came in to effect from 1 July 2013. Existing Civil
develop their careers and meet the challenges ahead. At HMCTS
Childcare benefits (policy for new employees as of 5 April 2018):
you’ll benefit from regular performance and development reviews
Servants appointed on level transfer will retain their existing
The government has introduced the Tax Free Childcare (TFC)
to ensure that your development ongoing. You’ll also be given the
terms and conditions.
Scheme. Working parents can open an online childcare account
training required to allow you to perform effectively in your role.
and for every £8 they pay in, the government will add £2, up to a
Appointment Term
maximum of £2000 a year for each child or £4000 for a disabled
Eligibility
child. Parents then use the funds to pay for registered childcare.
Permanent.
Existing employees may be able to continue to claim childcare
Location
vouchers.
Right to work:
Various - Nationwide. Travel will be expected across the region and
Contracted Hours
To be eligible for employment to this role you must be a
base location could change within a region due to business needs.
37 hours, excluding lunch breaks. You will be required to work those
national from the following countries:
hours over five days, Monday-Friday.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
•
UK nationals
•
Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the
The Civil Service values and supports all employees. We have strong
Training and Development
right to work in the UK
and proactive staff networks, special leave policies for hospital and
The Department offers engaging jobs in work that really matters.
other appointments and reasonable adjustments are put in place
These jobs have a direct impact on the quality of public services.
•
Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
for those who need them. Our diversity talent programmes are
Our roles can offer great job satisfaction. There are many
•
Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with (or
designed to help everyone, irrespective of background, to achieve
opportunities to develop and progress both within the department
eligible for) status under the European Union Settlement
their potential.
and across the wider Civil Service.
Scheme (EUSS)
•
Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in
Pension
To create a more skilled and unified organisation, the Civil Service
is developing 10 specialist areas of expertise. Cross-government
the Civil Service
Your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package. We
functions provide professional services and support to departments
•
Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have
provide you with a competitive contributory pension scheme
and supplement the 25 recognised professions within the Civil
built up the right to work in the Civil Service
that you can enter as soon as you join, and where we will make
Service. We are also committed to investing in our staff and we
•
Certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or
a significant contribution to the cost of your pension. Your
offer a range of work-based training and qualifications, coaching
Turkish nationals
contributions will come out of your salary before any tax is taken.
and mentoring opportunities and a guaranteed five days of learning
For more details, visit www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/
a year.
If you do not have existing right to work in the UK, or you are
Generous Annual Leave and Bank Holiday
Season Ticket and Bicycle Loan
not eligible for status under the EUSS, please be aware that
Allowance
for this role we are not able to offer sponsorship under the
Interest free loans allowing you to spread the cost of an annual
Skilled Worker route. We encourage you to check your RTW
You will initially be entitled to 25 days annual leave, increasing on
travel season ticket or a new bicycle.
status prior to applying.
a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service. This is in addition to
8 public holidays, complimented by one further days’ paid privilege
leave entitlement.
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