Lewis Silkin

Employment

I have over 14 years experience in employment law working primarily for large multinational and domestic employers who are headquartered in Ireland and put employment matters at the forefront of their operations. I am a passionate employment lawyer and firmly believe that organisations who invest in their processes and their people reap the most reward. I have experience on both sides of the fence, having spent over a year working in-house on a secondment basis early in my career.

I advise on all aspects of employment law, in both contentious and non-contentious matters. This work includes advising on all matters arising out of the employer-employee relationship including employee relations issues, restructuring projects and compliance matters to name but a few. I regularly advise employers in terms of future proofing their organisations in respect of upcoming employment laws at a European and Irish level.

I advise clients across a broad range of sectors but most regularly in the leading technology, financial services, professional services and retail & hospitality space.

Gemma is a Managing Associate in the Employment, Immigration and Reward team. Gemma recently joined Lewis Silkin after having spent 12 years working in-house for a large multi-national media company. Gemma prides herself on forming strong relationships with her clients and working with them as a business partner. Having worked extensively in-house, she understands the importance of being able to balance legal risk with a business’ goals, and works closely with her clients to provide clear and practical commercial and strategic advice. Gemma is a believer in dealing with issues at an early stage before they escalate and is always happy to talk through an issue with a client however small it may seem.

She advises on the full range of employment law issues and have extensive EMEA experience. Gemma has worked across various media business areas and, in particular, has extensive experience in Games and TV Production. Her particular expertise includes managing large-scale, cross-border restructurings; navigating complex disciplinary issues and grievances; advising on dismissals, including sensitive senior exits; advising on matters which could be of great public interest and have high business reputational risks; and conducting and managing workplace investigations.

Some examples of her work include:

Advising on the employment related issues arising on the acquisition of a Games company and later the sale of the company for $1.4 billion to another multi-national Games company. Advising on changes to policies and business processes following high profile movements such as #metoo and #BlackLivesMatter. Advising on several large scale, cross-border restructures, including carrying out collective consultations in several EMEA territories, TUPE consultations, dealing with social plans, and Collective Bargaining and Works Council issues. Advising on the termination of an employee’s contract on SOSR grounds against the backdrop of them being prolific on social media, having various protected characteristics, severe mental health issues, and having raised several grievances against various colleagues over an eighteen-month period. Following several internal mergers, advising on cross-border policy and contract harmonisation. Carrying out an investigation into an allegation of sexual harassment made by a high-profile external individual against a senior executive, and advising on the action required following the conclusion of the investigation.