Employment – UK Legal Labour Market Trends, March 2025
Employment Bill Fuels Legal Hiring Boom Outside London
Key findings include:
- Employment law vacancies rose 33.6% in 2024 amid political and regulatory shifts.
- Forthcoming Employment Rights Bill expected to drive further demand for legal advisory and litigation services.
- Regional markets, particularly the North West and Yorkshire & the Humber, outpaced London in vacancy growth.
- Leading firms such as Mills & Reeve and TLT ramp up hiring, while others scale back amid sector headwinds.
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Employment law hiring is expected to remain strong into 2025, as firms prepare for sweeping legislative reforms set to reshape UK workplace protections. Employment law recorded a 33.6% rise in vacancies during 2024, accounting for 7.7% of total legal job openings. Hiring patterns fluctuated across the year, peaking at 152 vacancies in Q1, then dipping by nearly 29% in Q2 before stabilising in the second half of the year. This, according to the latest UK Legal Labour Market Trends report by EJ Legal and labour market data analytics firm Vacancysoft.
Employment Law Vacancies to rise further in 2025
The Employment Rights Bill, introduced to Parliament in October 2024, is due for its second reading in the House of Lords this month. Its provisions, including stronger protections against unfair dismissal, expanded flexible working rights, and enhanced employer obligations on third-party harassment, are widely anticipated to prompt a spike in legal advisory and compliance activity.
The broader trend indicates sustained employer demand for employment law expertise, as businesses sought to navigate post-pandemic workforce transitions and prepare for upcoming statutory obligations. Compared to 2023, all quarters in 2024 posted higher vacancy figures.
George Catt, Managing Director, EJ Legal, commented:
“City firms are likely to be placing a greater emphasis on Employment law as further regulatory changes coalesce to create demand by multinational corporations for compliance and workforce restructuring advice. 2025 could well be an unprecedented year for employment lawyers.”
Regional Markets Gain Ground on London
While London remains a major legal hub, its share of employment law vacancies fell to 27.9% in 2024, as regional hiring accelerated. Firms in England and Wales outside the capital reported a 33.8% rise in employment law roles, reaching 364 vacancies compared to London’s 141.
North West England led regional growth with a 41.5% increase, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber, which saw vacancies surge 86.4% to 41. Both regions have expanded their share of the national employment law market, reinforcing a longer-term trend of decentralisation in legal recruitment.
The South East and South West, by contrast, saw slower growth and a decline in national market share, as legal services investment pivoted toward northern and regional cities.
Diverging Firm Strategies in Employment Law
Hiring activity in the sector has diverged sharply across firms. Mills & Reeve recorded a 137.5% increase in employment law recruitment, positioning itself as a leader in legislative advisory services. TLT followed with a 60% rise, reflecting its strategic focus on workplace transformation and compliance.
Meanwhile, firms such as Thompsons Solicitors and Duncan Lewis Solicitors saw hiring fall by 50% and 33.3% respectively. These contractions coincide with reductions in legal aid and fewer trade union-linked disputes. Areas that traditionally supported employment law activity for both firms.
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