Sr. Counsel – Labor & Employment

Overview

As in-house EU/UK Labour & Employment counsel, you will shape and guide Payward’s L&E practice across Europe as it expands. You’ll act as a trusted adviser on local law, supports workforce growth, and partner with leadership and PX to align policies with EU/UK requirements. You will lead works council matters, employment relations, and data privacy initiatives in a fast-scaling crypto environment. This role offers strategic influence on cross-border hiring, acquisitions, and global HR policy, with a focus on responsible privacy and compliance. Join a global team driving open financial systems and innovative workplace standards.

Responsibilities

• Provide local-law advice and first-line handling of EU/UK employment matters
• Manage works councils, collective consultations, and employee representative issues
• Support M&A due diligence and post-closing workforce integration in Europe
• Localize global policies for EU/UK requirements and develop related training
• Advise on employee data privacy (GDPR/UK GDPR) and cross-border data transfers
• Oversee workplace investigations and risk management for EU/UK matters
• Coordinate with PX team and business leaders on global expansion and workforce strategy
• Manage external counsel on local-law opinions and pre-litigation matters in EU/UK (and MENA/APAC as needed)
• Monitor global L&E trends and advise on policy and process improvements
• Support opportunities related to EOR, direct employment, and mobility in Europe

Key requirements

• 8+ years of legal experience in EU/UK employment, labor, and executive compensation
• Broad international labor and employment background
• Experience with works councils and employee representative bodies in EU/UK
• GDPR and UK GDPR data privacy advisory experience
• Hands-on proficiency with generative AI tools in legal work with judgment and confidentiality
• Proactive entrepreneurial mindset and ability to increase organizational optionality

• proactive
• entrepreneurial mindset
• strong judgment
• GDPR/UK GDPR expertise
• experience with works councils and collective consultation
• data privacy and cross-border transfers

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