Luke Tapp

Employment, Labour, Shares and Reward

Luke is a Partner for Pinsent Masons and leads the firm’s Middle East Employment practice. Luke is also part of the firm’s Global Board and is the Operations Partner for the Middle East Region.

Luke is a UK qualified employment lawyer and has been practicing in Dubai and the Middle East since 2012. Luke is ranked as a Chambers Band 1 practitioner.

Luke manages and leads the Pinsent Masons UAE and Middle East employment practice and the practice is now one of the region’s leading teams, both in terms of its profile, client relationships and reputation amongst peers and clients. Luke assists clients with all aspects of labour law in the Middle East and in particular, employment laws within the DIFC, ADGM and UAE.

Luke regularly advises clients on the full range of employment and HR matters within the Middle East and in particular, regularly advises on the following:

- assisting with the transfer and secondment of employees from international jurisdictions into the Middle East or within Middle East businesses;

- reviewing the full suite of employment documentation, including contracts of employment, policies and handbooks, and advising on the placement of employees and consultants into all of the jurisdictions within the Middle East;

- team hires and team moves within and across sectors to enable clients to grow their business, recruit the strongest talent within the region and of course protect their workforce;

- all aspects of restructuring, with a particular focus on senior executive exit strategies;

- supporting and representing clients on internal HR investigations and complex employment litigation, including onshore labour claims, DIFC and ADGM employment disputes, multi-jurisdiction disputes and disputes on a wide variety of statutory and contractual matters.

Luke is a founding member of the Evolve People Network, a new and leading UAE and GCC network group for professionals in the HR/People industry. Luke and the team deliver presentations to several high-profile clients, including the DMCC, Mecomed, the Association of Corporate Counsel (MENA) and other networking groups. Luke regularly features in the Dubai press and radio for his views on the employment market and new developing employment law issues.