We’re recruiting 75 Litigation Caseworkers to join our Appeals, Litigation and Administrative Review (ALAR) teams in Feltham, Solihull and Liverpool.
The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, fire, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.
About the role
Appeals, Litigation and Administrative Review (ALAR) is responsible for dealing with all applications where an appeal or legal challenge has been lodged, defending those where appropriate and providing a casework remedy for applications that do not meet the immigration rules.
We are recruiting for roles in the Litigation Operations Team (Lit Ops) and the Specialist Appeals and Litigation Team (SALT). You’ll be responsible for pre-action correspondence through to end-to-end management of the judicial review process, gaining experience in litigation handling, preparing cases for court and managing cost conclusions.
Litigation Operations (Lit Ops) Team
Lit Ops is an exciting, challenging and rewarding place to work. The team is responsible for considering pre-action protocol letters and judicial review challenges. Often the legal challenges are complex, novel and politically sensitive. You will often be working on cases which change and shape the development of UK immigration law.
Specialist Appeals and Litigation Team (SALT)
SALT focuses on private law claims, in which the Secretary of State or officials acting on their behalf are said to have acted unlawfully and in which damages are claimed. Other teams within SALT present statutory appeals before judges of the Upper Tribunal and manage litigation in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
We don’t expect you to have knowledge of immigration law. We deliver a comprehensive induction and ongoing training to enable you to become a subject matter expert – but an interest in human rights law as well as experience in litigation may help you hit the ground running.
Meet the team
You can learn more about our work and ask questions, at our one of our online events.
This is an opportunity to hear first-hand what work in these roles is like on a day-to-day basis as well as to hear hints and tips to help you with your application.
Benefits
We offer competitive starting salaries, along with a Civil Service Pension with employer contribution rates of at least 26.6 per cent, and a range of other brilliant benefits including 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service.
You will also have access to learning and development tailored to your role, an environment with flexible working options and a culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
Find out more about some of the other benefits we offer.
More about the role
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Feltham, Liverpool, Solihull
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- National: £25,750 min – £27,650 max
- London: £29,750 min – £31,950 max
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We are looking for candidates who are:
- Organised and are able to maximise their time and productivity.
- Precise, detail-focused and able to ensure everything is accurate and error free.
- Able to think ahead, to anticipate and avoid problems before they occur.
- Able to establish mutual respect and trust, building relationships with others internally and externally.
- Resilient, with an inner composure to recover quickly from setbacks and learn from them.
- Responsible, to take ownership for own decisions and be accountable for what has been delivered.
- Support others in leading change.
- Use their judgment and take a considered approach to situations and tasks when making decisions.
- Highly motivated and inspire others to move things along to achieve target goals.
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The litigation caseworker role will involve:
- Assessing the challenges set out in pre-action protocol correspondence or judicial review claims against UK immigration rules, policies and procedures and the decisions taken on immigration applications.
- Responding to pre-Action protocol correspondence and referring to operational areas for action to remedy any original errors in the decision being challenged.
- Escalating policy or procedural issues arising from pre-action protocol correspondence, judicial review claims and private law damages claims.
- Liaising with and instructing government lawyers to achieve an agreed course of action in managing litigation, including approving grounds of defence on behalf of Secretary State Home Department.
- Supporting government lawyers and counsel on defending cases at the oral or substantive hearing stages, including securing witness statements when needed.
- Making decisions on when cases should be settled and working with cost consultants on cost negotiations.
- Securing financial authority for the award of damages and instructing government lawyers on Part 36 offers in private law claims.
- Liaising and providing advice to decision makers and supporting them in learning lessons from legal challenges.
- Maintaining accurate records of activities/work completed
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We are looking for people who possess the following skills:
- Ability to analyse complex information, with a focus on identifying errors and irregularities.
- Good communication and customer service skills, with a particular emphasis on excellent drafting skills.
- Ability to comply with set standards and apply relevant guidance and caselaw.
- Make sound and legally defensible decisions.
- You must hold an undergraduate/bachelor’s degree, in any subject, or be due to graduate in summer 2023. We will not be able to make a formal offer of employment without evidence of the degree award.
Candidates who do not hold a degree and are not due to graduate in summer 2023 will only be considered if they can demonstrate recent experience of complex case working in a Government Litigation team, or in a government case working team with significant litigation experience.
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We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Delivering at Pace
- Making Effective Decisions
- Selection Process
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This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Strengths, Ability and Experience.
1. CV
As part of your application you will be asked to complete your CV, listing your employment history, skills and qualifications.
Your CV will not be scored but will be used to check for the necessary qualifications and relevant experience.
2. Statement of suitability
You will be asked to complete a personal statement of no more than 500 words, demonstrating how your qualifications, skills and experience align to the five essential criteria of the role specified above.
The sift will be conducted against the personal statement only.
3. The interview
If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview which will be a blended approach of strengths-based questions (no preparation necessary) and behaviour-based questions on all listed behaviours. Please check above behaviours section for further details.
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The closing date for applications is 23:55 on 11th April 2023.
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If you are interested in one of these roles, please apply using the button below.
