Nick has a very wide ranging practice which encompasses both contentious and non-contentious Employment work. He acts for both employers and employees in managerial or board level positions.
Nick also regularly advises and assists International clients with commercial advice with a specific emphasis on acting for Italian based businesses with advice relating to cross-border Anglo-Italian matters.
Employment Law
Nick is frequently asked to advise on the tactics which may lead to a dismissal or a termination of employment which in turn often leading to his being required to assist clients with the preparation and negotiation of settlement agreements. These usually will require advice and negotiation over bonus payments or share option or other entitlements. He is particularly well acquainted with the issues arising from negotiating such agreements.
Nick has pursued and defended a very considerable number of claims in the Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal and his contentious practice has involved him in a number of reported cases and has succeeded in obtaining a number of costs awards against opponents which is a rare occurrence in the Employment Tribunals.
He is regularly asked to draft or advise on employment contracts and service agreements which often include guaranteed and discretionary bonuses, share options, restricted stock units and other forms of incentives. He is also often asked to assist with the review or drafting of company policy documentation generally.
Nick has also over the years assisted a number of clients who have been investigated and prosecuted in connection with breaches of health and safety laws.
Nick acts for clients in a very wide range of industries including banking, insurance, recruitment, IT, software development, technology, consulting, fashion and food.
Italian Group
Nick lived in Padua in Italy for 11 years and is bi-lingual. He leads the firm’s Italian Group and has worked with Italian businesses seeking to establish a presence in the UK for many years. He is well versed in the intricacies of assisting clients across a wide variety of issues co-ordinating and project managing the advice of a wide variety of lawyers from nearly every department of the firm.
Typically clients establishing themselves for the first time in the UK will require assistance with new business premises, terms and conditions of business, contract of employment and a wide variety of related matters.
He regularly visits Italy and has strong links with legal, accountancy and general business contacts throughout most of the regions of Italy.
The recruitment industry
Nick has in-depth knowledge of the recruitment industry and the terms and conditions used by agencies and businesses as well as head hunters. He is familiar with the various means of engaging temporary workers by agencies and through umbrella companies as well as for interims, contractors also where they are offering services via personal service companies as well as the placement of permanent employees. He is familiar with the issues which frequently face agencies across the wide spectrum of business issues. He has an in-depth knowledge of the Employment Agencies Act of 1973, The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 and The Agency Workers Regulations 2010.
Press
Nick has been asked to comment on live employment tribunal cases and employment law issues generally and has appeared on television and radio broadcasts given by BBC News, BBC News 24, BBC South East Today, Channel 4 News, Channel 5 News, CNN, Hispania TV, Radio 4's PM and the Today Programmes and for Radio 5 Live, Radio London, Colourful Radio and CHQR AM in Canada.
Nick is very regularly asked to providing comments to Lexis Nexis (a very well respected resource for lawyers) as well as participating as a panel expert in their CPD webinars.
Nick has been asked to provide comments for articles appearing in The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph, The Times, The Telegraph, Metro, The Evening Standard, The Economist & The In-House Perspective.
Nick has been recognised in 2013 & 2014 by Chambers. He is a member of the Employment Lawyers' Association and the British Italian Law Association.
Nick speaks fluent Italian and reasonable French.
Nick is a London School of Economics law graduate and was admitted as a solicitor in 1990. After leaving McKenna & Co (now CMS Cameron McKenna) he moved to The Simkins Partnership (now Simkins LLP). From a broad commercial litigation background his practice focused on employment law. He joined Silverman Sherliker as a partner in 1998 and became a partner in Laytons LLP on 1 August 2017 when the firms merged.
He holds a Level 1 FA coaching qualification, is a qualified FA Referee and for eight years managed an Aldenham FC junior football team.
Gruppo Italiano
Nick ha vissuto a Padova in Italia per 11 anni ed e’ bilingue. Guida l’Italian Group dello Studio e lavora da molti anni con le imprese italiane che intendono stabilirsi in UK.
Ha molta esperienza nella complessa attivita’ di assistenza di clienti su una grande varieta’ di tematiche, coordinando e gestendo la consulenza resa dai professionisti dei diversi dipartimenti dello Studio.
Tipicamente i clienti che si stabiliscono per la prima volta in UK necessitano di assistenza in merito alla loro nuova sede, ai termini e alle condizioni del business, ai contratti di lavoro e ad una varieta’ di aspetti collegati.
Visita con regolarita’ l’Italia e ha forti relazioni con legali, commercialisti e il mondo degli affari in molte regioni d’Italia.
Contact details
Tel: +44 (0)20 7842 8000
DDI: +44 (0)20 7842 8044
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Qualifications
Qualified as a Solicitor in 1990
Expertise
News & Insights
Sign up for our upcoming Employment Law Seminar where Employment team members Nicholas Lakeland, Victoria Brockley, Marianne Johnson and James McConkey discuss key employment law developments for 2025 and their impact on workplace practices and compliance.
Whilst the joyful festivities of the ‘Christmas party season’ offer employees an opportunity to ‘let their hair down’, enjoy socialising and lift team morale; employers must navigate the yuletide period with caution, ensuring that ‘harmless banter’ does not encroach on inappropriate behaviour or worse, sexual harassment.
The much-anticipated Employment Rights Bill has introduced pivotal changes aimed at strengthening worker protections, particularly around collective redundancies and fire and rehire practices.
On 16 September 2024, the Supreme Court ruled on the employment status of part-time referees engaged by Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), a decision with significant implications for tax and National Insurance contributions.
Sign up for our Autumn Employment and Immigration Law Seminar, with Nicholas Lakeland, Victoria Brockley, Marianne Johnson, Victoria Welsh and Firuza Ahmed on Tuesday 10 September 2024.
Following the King’s speech, we now have clarity on the Prime Minister’s legislative programme and the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill.
The results are in! Following 14 years of a Conservative government, the British public have voted for a change. In terms of what this change means for employment law, Labour promised to bring forward an employment bill of rights within its first 100 days of coming into power as part of its “New Deal for Working People”. As of today, that clock starts ticking.
Immigration Partner, Victoria Welsh, and Employment Partner, Nicholas Lakeland, explore the issues that can arise when businesses allow employees to work remotely overseas, in this article written for People Management.
As legislative adjustments in employment law persistently emerge, employers are advised to regularly reassess their contracts and policies to ensure compliance with the evolving legal landscape. We outline the upcoming changes set to take effect from April 2024.
Sign ups are now open for our upcoming Employment and Immigration seminar! Our very own Employment Partners, Nicholas Lakeland and Victoria Brockley, will delve into the latest updates in Employment Law. This will be followed by our Partner and Head of Immigration, Victoria Welsh, as she analyses the recent amendments to UK Immigration Law and the implications on UK businesses.
As we head into the hustle and bustle of December, we’re taking a moment to reflect on our firm’s activities and achievements throughout November. It’s been a busy month of knowledge sharing, visits from abroad, and glamorous events!
The significance of diversity in the workforce cannot be overstated, given the potential pitfalls associated with unconscious bias or preconceived notions. Diversity encompasses individuals of varying ages, religions, ethnicities, those with disabilities, and a balance between genders or those who choose not to be defined as belong to either sex.
As we reach the end of October, it’s time to reflect on the significant achievements and contributions of Laytons ETL over the last month. It’s been a busy month filled with international conferences, knowledge sharing and team socials!
![Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and another v Agnew and others [2023] UKSC 33](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/570665c1d51cd45f7c8f1812/1697815374797-M7QJEI78QAHUKRS3PO42/Laytons_employment_article_%281%29.png)
The Supreme Court handed down it’s judgement which extends the right to seek compensation for underpaid holiday entitlements to police officers and employees of the Police Service of Northern Ireland ("PSNI"). This decision has raised considerable concerns about the proper calculation of holiday pay and cost the PSNI an estimated £30million.
You can now sign up for our upcoming Employment and Immigration seminar with Nicholas Lakeland, Victoria Brockley and Victoria Welsh!
Understanding what matters to potential employees and adapting your recruitment process to their requirements can help attract the most desirable applicants. Getting this stage of the recruitment process right involves considering what will attract the right candidate to apply for the job.
In the second article of Laytons’ series ‘Getting Recruitment Right’, we address the employment law surrounding the need to identify the job that is going to be filled and the suitable job description associated with the job.
Join us on Tuesday 20 June for our latest seminar, focusing on offering practical advice to HR and business professionals on how to manage employment and immigration challenges both at an individual and organisational level.
Recruiting a new employee is a key decision for any business. Get it right and you will reap the financial benefits; get it wrong and the result is a significant waste of both cost and time.
April is always marked as a busy time of the year for employment lawyers and HR professionals having to adjust to increased limits for awards.
Employment Partner Victoria Brockley gives an account of the current situation with Neurodiversity in the Workplace and discusses the challenges facing employers and relevant case law.
Last week, Employment Partners Nicholas Lakeland and Victoria Brockley advised attendees at their seminar: Employment Law Challenges we can expect in 2023. Our latest video series breaks down each employment challenge discussed throughout the seminar, beginning with Nicholas’ analysis of Benyatov v Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Ltd Case No: CA-2022-000447.
Join us on Wednesday 22 February for our latest seminar focuses on offering practical advice to HR and business professionals on how to manage the employment challenges of 2023, both at an individual and organisational level.
In November 2022, Nicholas Lakeland and Victoria Brockley offered practical advice to HR and business professionals on how to manage work- related stress, both at an individual and organisational level.
Nicholas Lakeland, Employment Partner at Laytons and Donfil Huang, Legal Advisory Manager at Dezan Shira & Associates (DSA) share legal knowledge focusing on what is a staff handbook, and how does it work in China and the UK.
Flexible working practices have come to the fore during the Covid-19 Pandemic but until this week there has still been a very rigid framework for employees to be able to request working flexibly. A consultation entitled Making Flexible Working the Default was initiated by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in 2021 and the results have been published on 5 December 2022.
Nicholas Lakeland, Employment Partner at Laytons and Donfil Huang, Legal Advisory Manager at Dezan Shira & Associates (DSA) discuss whether we can include a term of service that legally binds an employee to pay compensation if they do not fulfil contract terms.
Nicholas Lakeland, Employment Partner at Laytons and Donfil Huang, Legal Advisory Manager at Dezan Shira & Associates (DSA) share their legal knowledge on whether we can sign a contract in another foreign language.
The corporate team at Laytons ETL are delighted to have advised Planit Testing, an Australian headquartered global leader in quality engineering and application testing services, and part of the Toyko based NRI Group, on its acquisition of Shift Left Group, a Yorkshire based quality specialist.
Nicholas Lakeland, Employment Partner at Laytons and Donfil Huang, Legal Advisory Manager at Dezan Shira & Associates (DSA) share legal knowledge focusing on when a fixed-term contract becomes an indefinite-term contract.
April is always marked as a busy time of the year for employment lawyers and HR professionals having to adjust the increased limits for awards.
It’s remarkable how often the title ‘director’ is used to describe someone’s position in a business. The title confers a sense of importance which is why it is often used but being a ‘real’ director brings with it a considerable degree of responsibility and potential liabilities, and if this was more widely understood there would be a greater reluctance to so casually use the title.
As we slowly inch our way towards a brave new world post COVID-19 we set out below the employment law issues likely to face employers and employees in the coming months.
The government guidance has been continuously changing and this article is therefore inevitably a general exposition of key features of the scheme and specific advice should be sought in relation to the furloughing of employees.
The review, which was published on 4 November 2019, also concluded that despite the potential for minimum wages to have a negligible or zero effect on jobs, it significantly increases earnings of the lowest paid workers. Nicholas Lakeland, partner at Laytons, comments on the report, saying it will ‘frame the future remit of the Low Pay Commission… and future government policy’.
Employment lawyers and HR teams are well acquainted with the routine dance involved in the negotiation of settlement agreements. However, it is important to note that HMRC has decided to make some changes which will affect some of the steps taken when negotiating exit payments.
The collapse of Carillion will cause a great deal of disruption and financial uncertainty. Those unfortunate enough to be affected by these events will require swift expert advice.