Recruitment surges for employment lawyers as businesses worry about worker rights overhaul
Employment lawyers are in hot demand, with law firms are actively seeking to bulk out their practices as the pending employment law overhaul drives uncertainty in businesses.
The Employment Rights Bill, introduced to Parliament in October by the Labour government, aims to overhaul employment rights in the UK.
The highly contentious package of employment reforms, which included 28 individual measures, was revealed in October. These included ending exploitative zero-hour contracts, banning fire and rehire tactics and extending employment rights from day one.
However, since then, businesses have been vocal about how much these policies will cost and how uncertain the process has been throughout the reading of the Bill.
An economic analysis by the government even stated that businesses face around £5bn in additional costs annually due to the workers’ rights legislation. From that, smaller businesses in hospitality and retail are set to be hit the hardest.
The current version of the Bill was published in January and is 199 pages long. With several U-turns, including plans to drop the ‘right to switch off’ proposal, and as it nears its final stages in Parliament, employment lawyers are busy.
According to a report by recruitment consultant EJ Legal and labour market data analytics firm Vacancysoft, employment law vacancies rose nearly 34 per cent in 2024.
The report noted that employment lawyers accounted for nearly eight per cent of total legal job openings, and this trend is expected to continue throughout 2025.
George Catt, managing director of EJ Legal, explained: “City firms are likely to be placing a greater emphasis on Employment law as further regulatory changes coalesce to create demand by multinational corporations for compliance and workforce restructuring advice.”
“2025 could well be an unprecedented year for employment lawyers,” he added.
The report highlighted that the hiring activity in the legal sector has diverged sharply across firms.
Mid-tier firm Mills & Reeve recorded a nearly 138 per cent increase in employment law recruitment, followed by TLT, which saw a 60 per cent rise.
While firms such as Thompsons Solicitors and Duncan Lewis Solicitors saw hiring fall by 50 per cent and over 33 per cent, respectively, the report noted that these contractions coincided with reductions in legal aid and fewer trade union-linked disputes.
Just this week, a poll of 31 major retailers found that Labour’s Employment Rights Bill will lead to job cuts and price hikes. The retail sector is already facing pressures from increased employers’ national insurance contributions and higher taxes.