Legal Director

Successful businesses rely on a unique set ofideasandpeople. We help our clients protect and develop those vital assets unlockingpossibilitiesfor future success.

From iconic brands and leading multinationals to pioneering start-ups we are proud to work with a huge range of inspiring clients helping them to turn their ideas into reality and get the best from - and for - their people.

Our people are not only exceptional at what they do they also enjoy doing it and consistently give their best to a firm theyre proud to be part of. This stems from ourfirm cultureand our ethos ofbravery and kindness. That ethos runs through everything we do from our approach to recruitment business practices and DEI activities to the day-to-day environment in our office and our relationships with clients.

With an internationally minded team of more than 700 working across key areas of law plus strategic partnerships around the world weve got both the combination and calibre of legal experts it takes to enable our clients businesses to thrive. Whether it is providing global employment law advice managing a global IP portfolio or piecing together a multijurisdictional corporate transaction we are able to have the right people in the right place at the right time.

We are looking for a senior employment tax expert who can provide high-quality responsive tax support to a fast-growing diverse and top-ranked employment team as well as collaborating on growth of the broader tax and incentives practice.

Our ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• Sound technical knowledge / fluency with employment tax issues affecting our core employment practice including:
  • Complex termination issues for employees (PENP; discrimination; disability payments; protective awards and similar) and for members of partnerships (discrimination; disability)
  • Atypical workers (employment status; IR35 / off payroll worker rules; employment intermediary rules)
  • Taxation of expenses and benefits incentive award schemes payroll operation salary sacrifice
  • Supporting client advice where something has gone wrong (e.g. employee status irregularities ineffective salary sacrifice etc.)
  • Cash incentive arrangements
• Excellent drafting analytical and communication skills as well as strong attention to detail. You must be able to proactively support with e.g. negotiation of complex tax provisions in high value termination awards.
• An ambitious proactive curious commercial and responsive attitude.
• A keen interest in developing their marketing and business development skills. The ideal candidate will have ambitions to grow our tax and incentives practice alongside our corporate tax and share incentive specialists.
• Comfortable with taking responsibility for work output and dealing directly with clients
• A team player who is keen to support others to learn and who is keen to learn and develop their own skills
• Any of the following expertise would be considered an advantage:
  • Mobile employee taxation / tax equalisation
  • Carried interest arrangements
  • Broader share incentive arrangements
  • Financial services and listed company executive remuneration / associated regulatory issues

The successful individual will work closely with a friendly and supportive Tax Reward and Incentives team. We are highly encouraging growth of our tax advisory and incentives practice and this role offers excellent prospects for personal and career development.

Whilst you will work closely with many of our teams due to the nature of the role you will be working most closely with our Employment team. 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 the largest employment team in the UK we have truly global reach as members of Ius Laboris the worlds leading employment law alliance and with our Asia Pacific base in Hong Kong and our Dublin offices.

We help clients realise the potential in their people and navigate their strategic HR and legal issues with dedicated specialists in all areas of employment law and a track record of leading precedent setting cases on issues of the day.

Our experts advise on the full range of employment services:

• General employment day to day queries e.g. disciplinaries and grievances contracts and policies flexible working maternity rights discrimination and support on larger projects such as restructures and redundancies.
• Employment litigation defending Employment Tribunal claims made against employers (e.g. unfair dismissal discrimination whistleblowing equal pay) bringing high value Employment Tribunal claims on behalf of individuals and supporting with dispute resolution through mediation/ arbitration.
• High Court litigation restrictive covenant litigation team moves obtaining/ resisting/ enforcing injunctions claims relating to misuse of confidential information.
• Trade Unions/Collective advising employers on all aspects of industrial action collective consultation union recognition and works councils.
• Transactional support supporting on the employment aspects (including due diligence and TUPE) of M&A divestments and outsourcings.
• Atypical working advising on areas such as agency workers zero hours contracts employment status apprenticeships the gig economy.
• Global mobility supporting employers with the relocation of employees for long term periods (covering employment immigration and tax issues).
• Reward - covering employment tax cash plan and incentives shares and options and other aspects of employee reward.
• Senior Executives - high value litigation bonus/ breach of contract claims and advice relating to entering and exiting businesses.
• International employment support coordinating and project managing advice from single country matters to global projects. For larger international clients we are able to provide platforms to log/track queries.

At Lewis Silkin our ethos is simple. We strive to do the best for our clients our people and the communities in which we operate. We recognise that an inclusive workplace allows for all kinds of ideas and thoughts a variety of points of view that can trigger discussions or deliver innovative results and a wide range of versatile skills and expertise. We are proud of the diversity within Lewis Silkin and of our culture that allows people to be themselves at work ensuring we provide the best possible service to our clients. We are committed to supporting candidates throughout the recruitment process by supporting anyone who requires adjustments in order to ensure they have the opportunity to perform at their best. All applicants will be considered equally and fairly. If youd like to request any adjustments throughout the recruitment process or would like to discuss flexible working patterns please email the recruitment team in confidence ().