Health and Safety Executive
Paralegal Assistant (Band 6/AO)
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Job Summary
The Health and Safety Executive is recruiting Paralegal Assistants to join the Business Support Unit within Legal Services Division (LSD). This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of a team which deals with some of the most complex and significant prosecutions in this area of regulatory law which, put simply, helps to save lives.
As Great Britain’s Health and Safety regulator, our enforcement powers are key, not only to enforcing compliance with the wider H&S regime, but also to backing-up our wider messages and ensuring that those responsible for causing death and serious injury are appropriately punished. This is a key role and one which will contribute directly to public confidence, both in HSE and in the wider justice system. Our legal teams cover a wide range of interesting and challenging work, including advising on policy and investigation matters across HSE, conducting criminal litigation and Notice Appeals in the Employment Tribunal, Inquests, and engagement with other regulators.
You will report to the Business Support Paralegal Officer and be working in a team of paralegal assistants.
The role is to provide general administrative assistance to Legal Services Division. The Business Support Unit acts as the first point of contact for the Division, ensuring enquiries are dealt with by the appropriate person.
Part time working hours are available for this role. We can accept part time applicants who can commit to working a minimum of 30 hours per week.
Responsibilities
- Liaison with Inspectors, Operational Support staff, Courts and other Government Departments
- Providing an outstanding administrative service to the wider team to ensure smooth running of operations
- Dealing with various correspondence including answering email queries, managing inboxes, triaging file receipts and recording costs
- Diarising Court hearings and maintaining accurate records
- Assisting Paralegal Officer in the preparation of Court bundles
- Acquire an understanding and knowledge of relevant operational and business support procedures and functions and how your role contributes to the overall success of the HSE.
- Input and process data, download documents on to the computer systems, ensuring accuracy and attention to detail at all times, drawing conclusions from this data to make sound decisions
- Work closely with your Team Leader and colleagues to deliver the key responsibilities of the post in a flexible and responsive manner, responding positively to changes of priority as work demands dictate.
Person Specification
Essential Skills And Criteria
You will be able to:
- Work effectively as a team member, including contribution to the delivery of the teams objectives
- Effectively communicate with both internal and external stakeholders including customers.
- Be organised, with the ability to manage your workload, inbox(es) and prioritise effectively.
- Be proficient in the use of all Microsoft Office Packages including: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Hybrid Working
At HSE, we are proud to be able to offer our people the opportunity to work in a hybrid way which combines working from home and the office. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement, and your allocated office will be your contractual place of work.
There will be a requirement to travel to the office for various activities, e.g., collaborative working, supporting and training colleagues. If hybrid working is suitable for you and your role, you will be expected to attend the office, or other business-related site, for 60% of your working week. The arrangements will be determined primarily by business need, but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account.
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Therefore, we would encourage candidates to consider if the commute from home to the office is a feasible distance to travel before making an application. Please note that if you are successful, hybrid working will be discussed prior to taking up the post.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Working Together
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Managing a Quality Service
Salary and Benefits
Alongside your salary of £28,499, Health and Safety Executive contributes £8,256 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
We invest in our people with:
- Competitive rates of pay
- Access to the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme to which HSE contribute 28.97% far more than in the private sector.
- Family friendly policies and working hours to help balance your home life and career
- Carer friendly policies to help create a supportive working culture
- 25 days annual holiday increasing to 30 days after 5 years' service, plus bank holidays and 1-day Civil Service privilege leave
- Parental leave benefits
- As a member of HSE you will gain access to a wide range of fantastic benefits that you can take advantage of such as the Cycle to Work Scheme, E-Gift Cards, and Vouchers via our partner EdenRed.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection Process Details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
Please be advised that the tests are NOT timed.
Upon submitting your short application form, you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Styles Test and a Verbal Reasoning Test.
Please complete the online tests as soon as possible, within 24-48 hours is recommended, to allow time to complete your full application.
If you successfully pass the test, you will then be invited to complete the final stage of your application.
You must complete the online tests and your full application form by noon on 27th July 2026. If you fail to complete the online test and full application form before the deadline, your application will be withdrawn.
Guidance for the tests will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS jobs website
Application Information
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You will be asked to complete an anonymised Personal Statement, of no more than 500 words, demonstrating how you meet the essential skills and criteria of the job advert.
You will also be asked to provide a 250 word statement on the behaviour detailed within the job advert.
Application Guidance
Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply and how to complete a Personal Statement How to Apply
Please access the following link for guidance and further information on the Civil Service Tests, including practice tests: Civil Service online tests - GOV.UK
Sift Information
The sift will take place week commencing 27th July 2026 when you will be assessed on your Personal Statement and the 250 word behaviour statement.
In the event of a high volume of applications, an initial sift will be conducted on the 250 word Lead Behaviour (Working Together). If you meet the benchmark for the Lead Behaviour element, you will be progressed to a full sift in which the Personal Statement will also be scored. If you do not meet the standard for the Lead Behaviour, you will not receive a score for your Personal Statement.
Interview Information
Interviews will take place week commencing 10th August 2026 when you will be assessed against the behaviours detailed within the job advert.
The lead behaviour, Working Together, will be used in the event of a tie-break.
Sponsorship
This role is not open to application from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system. Should you apply for this role and require sponsorship your application will be rejected, and any provisional offers of employment will be withdrawn
Further Information
Please note that a Reserve List will be held for the period of up to 12 months. There is no guarantee you will be offered a role from our reserve lists, so if you see a vacancy on Civil Service Jobs that you are interested in, we recommend you apply.
HSE reserve the right to conduct additional checks, including Google and social media checks, when recruiting candidates into a role within HSE. These checks will be carried out in line with the Civil Service Commission Principles and, if used all candidates will be subject to these additional checks.
From 23rd June 2025, if you are successful at interview, as part of your pre-employment checks, HSE’s Recruitment Team are required to check your details against the Internal Fraud Hub (IFH), using your personal details – name, NINO, and date of birth. If you are included on the database, you will be refused employment. If you believe that there has been an error in the inclusion of your data and wish to make an appeal, please contact the CO email box internal.fraud@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
Details of the types of internal fraud/dishonesty covered by this process are defined by the Cabinet Office and can be found here Internal Fraud Register privacy notice - GOV.UK
It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful in their application. For a summary of HSE terms and conditions as part of Civil Service Reform, please see the attached HSE Terms and Conditions document.
Progression through pay ranges is subject to annual pay awards as permitted within annual Civil Service pay remit guidance and negotiations with Trade Unions.
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