Employment
Employment is a central focus of our business, with over 170 lawyers in our team supporting our clients in managing their people.
Consistently top-ranked amongst our peers for over two decades, we advise UK and multinational clients of all sizes, with most of our partners independently rated as leaders in the field. Not only do we have one of the UK’s largest employment law practices, we have truly global reach as members of Ius Laboris, the world’s leading employment law alliance, and with our Asia Pacific base in Hong Kong and our Dublin and Belfast offices.
Underpinning the success of any business are its people. Following events of the past few years, businesses are making strategic decisions such as how, when and where their workforce work, how to reward them and ways to provide a diverse and sustainable workplace culture. Whilst the evolution of the ‘employment deal’ brings opportunities, it also creates risk.
I don't know why a company would use another firm for employment advice: Lewis Silkin has fantastic lawyers who offer excellent, commercial advice and charge substantially less than bigger City firms. They have an unparalleled breadth of offerings (all of which we have used).
Legal 500 2022
Our award-winning specialist employment team supports clients on the full range of work – from day-to-day HR support through to advising on the most complex or contentious of disputes - with a track record of leading precedent setting cases on issues of the day. We have the agility to be fully flexible to what our clients need, providing the right team at the right price for all types of companies whatever their stage of development. Going far beyond just legal advice, we also support clients with a range of innovative, value-adding services including consultancy, training and flexible legal resourcing.
Accolades
- Chambers and Legal 500 have rated us as a Tier 1 practice for over a decade and this year name 31 of our partners as “leaders in their field”.
- Who’s Who Legal have twice named us “Global Law Firm of the Year for Labour, Employment & Pensions”. 19 of our lawyers are currently ranked in Who’s Who - substantially more than any other firm in the UK.
- “Lewis Silkin have grown from strength to strength in recent years and there is not one area of employment law that they are unable to cover.” (Legal 500 2023)
- “The size of the team means that there is extraordinary strength in depth and an unrivalled degree of expertise across all aspects of employment law. The Lawyers are also responsive, commercial and down to earth” (Chambers 2022)
- “Lewis Silkin has provided my team with exceptional support and advice over the years. They are true partners in the way they work with not only our in-house lawyers but other key stakeholders in our business. We rely on them as trusted advisers for all of our key cases and decisions in the employment sphere.” (Legal 500 2022)
- “Extraordinary strength in depth. Excellent training and empowering of associates means that everyone in the team can be relied upon to provide exceptional work.” (Legal 500 2022)
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Criminal Records Checks in Employment
05 December 2022Criminal record checks can be a useful and sometimes necessary way of checking the suitability of an employee for a particular role. However, employers must be careful that they are not exceeding the boundaries of what they are permitted to request and are complying with their data protection obligations. This Inbrief covers how employers can carry out criminal record checks on prospective or existing employees, and the limitations on what they can do.
Masking for trouble? Can employers require staff to wear a face mask even if an employee says they have a disability that prevents them from doing so?
30 November 2022The use of face masks at work is back under the spotlight as winter approaches, with two recent Employment Tribunal decisions considering whether it could be an act of disability discrimination to require disabled employees to wear face masks.
Industrial action
22 November 2022Economically turbulent times resulting from coronavirus have seen an increase in trade unions’ membership and an increase in them ‘flexing their muscles’ by threatening industrial action over adverse changes in the workplace for their members.
“Eight drivers of change – 2022 and beyond” (By James Davies, Lewis Silkin LLP)
22 November 2022Last year James Davies published a report the Eight Drivers of Change – the future of work for the Future of Work Hub. It identified eight key drivers of change in society as a whole, and in the workplace in particular. It considered how these interconnected drivers were accelerating change at an unprecedented scale and speed and how these changes were influencing the what, where, from where, when, how, how much/many, who and why of work.
Government backs new laws on carers, sexual harassment, flexible working, redundancy protection and more: the Employment Bill by the back door?
17 November 2022Back in 2019, the government announced a new Employment Bill. A pandemic and two prime ministers later, it has not appeared. But several Private Members’ Bills now cover much of the same ground and have gained government support. Employment law reform now looks likely to be ushered in by the back door.
Neurodiversity, harassment and misconduct: new ruling puts spotlight on difficult issues
16 November 2022Employers are becoming more aware of neurodiversity and the benefits of more inclusive hiring strategies. At the same time, neurodiversity-based discrimination claims are on the rise. Cases where employees have committed misconduct linked to their neurodivergence can be particularly difficult, as a recent ruling illustrates.