put multiple value in a like sql
SELECT
x.*
FROM
(
VALUES
('emp1%', 3),
('emp3%', 2)
) AS v (pattern, row_count)
CROSS APPLY
( -- your query
SELECT top (v.row_count)
employee_id, employee_ident, utc_dt, rx_dt
FROM employee
INNER JOIN employee_mdata_history
ON employee.ident=employee_mdata_history.employee_ident
WHERE employee_id like v.pattern
ORDER BY rx_dt desc
) AS x
;