ORD/186 – Immigration Solicitor – Legal Services Team

Job title: ORD/186 – Immigration Solicitor – Legal Services Team

Organisation: UNISON

Location:  Euston, London

Deadline: 24 July 2026

Salary: Starting salary: £53,110 per annum, plus £7,170 London Weighting allowance

Contact for role: unisonlegal@unison.co.uk

Website: https://unison.org.uk/

About the role and how to apply:

UNISON Legal Services conducts strategically important and often ground-breaking litigation on behalf of the union and its members.

Successful cases include the challenge to the imposition of employment tribunal fees in the Supreme Court and Lock v British Gas in the ECJ.

Legal Services also manages the following national functions:

• The provision and management of all the union’s legal services.
• Giving internal legal advice to the union, including on HR/staffing matters.
• Managing the external legal advice scheme that provides a comprehensive suite of legal services to members.
• Dealing with legal complaints, including defending litigation.

The role:

The Immigration Solicitor will need to run the emergency casework support we undertake to support members.

They will then pursue immigration legal cases, as appropriate from these matters, as well as develop a strategic legal approach to tackling issues experienced by our members caught up within the immigration rules/system.

In addition they will be a source of specialist immigration advice to the union, including to regions and branches on member cases/employer actions which engage with the immigration system.

They will need to analyse government rule changes in terms of their application to the sectors and workplaces UNISON organises in; and assist in the preparation of government consultation responses.

They will also be expected to develop and produce briefings and reports; and offer guidance and webinars to sections of the union, including head office sections, service group officers, regional officers and branches on immigration policy changes.

They will be required to assist with other areas of law, dealt with by the Legal Services team such as employment and personal injury law as appropriate.

The person:

The Immigration solicitor must have the following skills and abilities:

• Post-qualification experience as a solicitor of at least five years, in immigration law.
• Be a self-starter and effective at problem solving.
• Have confident and precise communication and numeracy skills.
• Have an excellent knowledge of Microsoft packages, particularly Excel, and strong organisational skills.
• Be a team worker and have a commitment to team working.
• Have the ability to manage up, to work under pressure and to deadlines.
• Take ownership of their work, manage their own workload in conjunction with the requirements of the team.
• Have the ability to understand the role of trade unions and their structures.

While the Immigration solicitor post can be a demanding position, requiring some attendance at meetings outside of the conventional working day, or when working to legal deadlines, UNISON is a strong supporter of the work/life balance ethos and has a cross-union flexible working policy.

How to apply:

To apply for this opportunity, please download and complete the General application form (available to download from Immigration Solicitor – Legal Services Team | UNISON) referring to the job description and person specification.

Please note that only the relevant application form will be accepted. CVs will not be accepted.

The completed application form along with the Recruitment and Disability Monitoring Form should be returned by e-mail to UNISON Legal Services at unisonlegal@unison.co.uk quoting reference: ORD/186.

Please save each of your documents to include your full name, followed by job title, region/dept and reference.

Completed application forms must be received by no later than 5pm on Friday 24 July 2026.

In-person interviews will be held on 6 August 2026 at UNISON Centre, 130 Euston Road, London NW1 2AY.

Please see a map of our regions.

About UNISON:

UNISON is the UK’s leading public services trade union, with over 1.3 million members working in the public sector, private, voluntary and community sectors and in the energy services. We employ approximately 1,200 staff, with around 370 at our national centre in Euston in central London and the remainder in our 12 regions across the UK, including Northern Ireland.

UNISON is a dynamic, progressive union, committed to equality. We encourage men and women of all ages, Black and minority ethnic groups, disabled people, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to work with us.

Document Date

Thursday July 16, 2026