A leaked internal memo has exposed the scale of anger over DLA Piper’s job-cutting programme, with employees confronting senior staff about the redundancy ;packages offered by the firm.
As revealed on The Lawyer.com (11 March), minutes from a meeting held last month, after the firm announced it was to lose 30 lawyers and 110 support staff, showed office managing partner Catherine Usher fielding angry questions ;about ;the compensation being offered.
Unlike firms including Clifford ;Chance ;and Linklaters, DLA Piper has offered the statutory minimum to departing staff.
One employee at the meeting described the package as an insult, saying: “I’m not sure you appreciate the level of anger on the floors.” Others asked why partners had not been affected.
Those who take voluntary redundancy will receive their contractual notice period, ;the ;statutory redundancy payment and one month’s salary.
The minutes also revealed that a recruitment freeze had been in place since June 2008. The hiring freeze is understood to exclude newly qualified lawyers and ‘essential roles’.
HR staff told the meeting that, in a bid to lower costs, since June last year 100 employees had left the firm, with only 26 per cent of the vacancies being filled.
The 30-day consultation ends on 20 March. A DLA Piper spokesman said: “We’ve ;engaged ;in ;a thorough process, which in two of our offices has included a formal collective consultation ;process, including the election of workplace representatives. The representatives have added to the debate and we’d like to thank them for their contributions.”
DLA
how much do you pay your hr guys dla? sounnds like there may be a few savings there!
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Alan, excellent. Keep it flowing scribe, heavier on the irony if anything (might allow some of the other more literal-minded patrons of this site to further embarrass themselves). A touch lightweight in places but full of promise nonetheless.
It is very clear that DLA will be filled with the worst people by the end of the economic downturn. No decent, self respecting lawyer would join this firm in the future.
Most of the lawyers who were made to leave on redundancy packages were not satisfied. Why? Because they don’t give you even the minimum expected. And, there would be undeserving partners/ managng directors still getting their big fat pays when they can’t get any business. So they can only dish out redundancy packages for others.