Currently debating whether to move into Employment Law as an expert field - advice would be appreciated!

Hello everyone,

I am after some advice and opinions on the above matter.

I have spent the last 5 years working my way up the ladder from HR administration and I am fortunate enough to now be a Senior HR Manager for a start-up technology firm. I have held this role for just over 1 year now and whilst I still have more years to come, I am always fascinated by Employment Law.

My question is what are the options to move from an HR Manager role to one of an Employment Lawyer? Do I need to go back to university to study, could I do a CIPD course instead and what tends to be the level of entry? 

I absolutely love my role at present but I am just trying to assess long-term what my main interests are and the routes to pursue.

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  • Hi Rebecca

    Unless you particularly want to get admitted as a professional solicitor or barrister then becoming an employment law specialist is likely to be easier than going back almost to square one in order to meet the particular requirements of the legal professional bodies, which as far as I know (a) require far broader legal qualification and training than merely employment law and (b) don't have much if any recognition of CIPD qualifications.

    Many very big companies will have in house employment law advisers who needn't necessarily be fullblown lawyers as long as they have the necessary expertise and there are plenty of freelance self employed employment law specialists who aren't professional lawyers and one of these career directions might prove less onerous than 'the Law' as a new profession per se.
  • Hi David, thank you for this useful information and it’s refreshing to know that you think I wouldn’t need to ‘start at the bottom’ typically.

    Long-term I think consultancy work is where I want to focus or an in-house employment advisor.

    That being said, there are so many different routes - the CIPD do a Level 7 Award in Employment Law (through ICS Learn) but again, would this be a suitable route? And I want to ensure that whatever/wherever I study has the most relevant, up to date legislation - I’ve read a few comments about universities providing some outdated lectures and this understandably is not what I want.
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  • Hi David, thank you for this useful information and it’s refreshing to know that you think I wouldn’t need to ‘start at the bottom’ typically.

    Long-term I think consultancy work is where I want to focus or an in-house employment advisor.

    That being said, there are so many different routes - the CIPD do a Level 7 Award in Employment Law (through ICS Learn) but again, would this be a suitable route? And I want to ensure that whatever/wherever I study has the most relevant, up to date legislation - I’ve read a few comments about universities providing some outdated lectures and this understandably is not what I want.
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