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Immigration, Labour & Employment

Our acclaimed Immigration, Labour and Employment Practice Group provides top notch, fast and excellent legal support in the immigration, labour and employment sector, with an ultimate degree of client satisfaction and care.

We perfectly understand the diverse and changing legal landscape both domestically and internationally, and we support our clients accordingly.

We are a one stop shop for foreign participants in the Nigerian business sector as well as for Nigerian participants in cross border and international commerce in foreign jurisdictions. We provide regulatory compliance advisory and due diligence support to individuals and corporate entities vis-à-vis expatriate mobility advisory, in accordance with government and industry requirements from country to country. 

Our Immigration practice provides assistance in obtaining work and resident permits and business permits. The team also offers consular advice and assistance with obtaining out-bound business and work visas for other countries with embassies in Nigeria.

Our team offers extensive labour and employment services with specific focus on employment advisory and employment litigation.  We help both domestic companies and multinationals create recruitment policies, work processes, remuneration and pension policies, as well as internal guidelines in accordance with obtainable industry regulations and best practices. Where there is a wrong, we provide representation to the wronged party, whether it is an employer or employee and have a track record of getting adequate redress for our clients.

We pride ourselves in the ability to help all our clients navigate the immigration and employment law terrain of the different countries where they do business in a way that minimizes their legal risks to the minimum, and safeguards both the employers and the employees’ interests. 

Representative Experience

  • We act as Nigerian counsel to Fragomen, Berry Appleman and Leiden, and Newland Chase – 3 of the biggest immigration service providers in the world.
  • We act as immigration consultants to IBM Nigeria Ltd, a subsidiary of IBM International.
  • Representing a multinational company in negotiations with its trade union over a trade dispute. We are also negotiating a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the trade union.
  • Advised a leading helicopter operator on the redundancy of its staff. This exercise required, inter alia, a through audit of the affected staff as well as the negotiation of redundancy terns with the relevant trade unions.
  • As part of a global restructure of General Electric's Tax and Audit Unit, the Firm recently advised General Electric on the transfer of its Tax and Audit Unit employees in Nigeria to PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
  • Advising Macmahon Contractors Nigeria Limited (a subsidiary of Macmahon Holdings - one of Australasia’s leading construction and mining companies) on labour and employment regulatory compliance. Our scope of work includes the review of the employee handbook, work policies and employment letters.
  • Represented an employee of a multinational oil and gas company at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria in a claim for outstanding redundancy benefits. The fact of the case bordered on when redundancy claims can validly arise – the case is novel as it expanded the jurisprudence of redundancy benefit accrual in Nigeria.
  • Represented an employee of a helicopter operator that services the Nigerian oil and gas industry, at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria. The fact of the case bothers on the unlawful termination of employment - the case expanded the jurisprudence of restrictive covenants in Nigeria.
  • We act as immigration consultants to Hewlett Packard (HP) Nigeria Ltd., a subsidiary of HP International.
  • We also act as Nigerian immigration counsel to Procter & Gamble Nigeria, a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble International. The firm oversees all the immigration and work permit needs of their employees in Nigeria.
  • We also act as Nigerian immigration counsel to Cisco Systems Nigeria, a subsidiary of Cisco Systems International.
  • Advised Calix Network UK Limited, a United Kingdom based telecommunication access architecture provider, on the lay-off of its employees in Nigeria.
  • Recently advised Macmahon Contractors, an Australian based mining company on the transfer of its employees in Nigeria to a third-party recruiter.
  • Advised Van Velden Pike Inc, a leading law firm with presence across Africa, on issues surrounding termination of employment of directors and employees on managerial level with regards to misconduct and poor performance in Nigeria.
  • Advised Bowman Gillifan, a South African law firm, on specific employment related queries of Old Mutual Insurance, one of Africa’s largest insurance companies.
  • Advised INTEL Nigeria with respect to business visa procurement for their Nigerian employees that required constant travels. The advice involved liaising with 5 foreign embassies and creating a cordial relationship which would ensure smooth visa application processes.
  • Acted as Nigerian immigration counsel to Macmahon Contractors Nigeria Ltd.; a subsidiary of Macmahon Holdings (Macmahon Holdings is one of Australasia’s leading construction and contract mining company).
  • The firm continues to assist the several global companies with their employee immigration needs, including ENI, Chevron, SAP, Hewlett & Packard (HP), Equant Nigeria Limited (now known as Orange Business Communications Services Nigeria Limited, Cameron Offshore, Baker Hughes, Bloomberg Nigeria, Qualcomm, MasterCard, Microsoft, Genpact, Technip, Cummins UK and Thomson Reuters. International Business Machines West Africa LTD (IBM), Coca Cola Company LTD, Transport Services LTD, First Exploration & Petroleum Development Company LTD, Kimberly Clark, Monurent Nigeria Limited, DEM Equipment Nigeria LTD, General Electric, VISA West Africa Limited, PWC, etc.

Awards & Rankings

  • The Firm was awarded the “Immigration Law Firm of the Year” award at the 2017 edition of the ESQ Nigerian Legal Awards.
  • The Firm was awarded the “Labour and Employment Law Firm of the Year” award at the 2017 edition of the ESQ Nigerian Legal Awards.
  • Members of the Firm’s Immigration, Labour and Employment practice are regularly recognized in Who’s Who Legal rankings for Nigeria.
  • A partner and chair of our Immigration, Labour and Employment practice is the author of the leading books: “Corporate Immigration Manual – Nigeria” and the “Expatriate Employee Handbook – Nigeria”.

Related services

Consular Services

The consular services department assists clients with document compilation, third party visa applications, document legalization and advisory.

The department assists both Nigerians and foreign nationals that intend to obtain business visa or work authorization for other countries from Nigeria. We know that visa applications may be tedious and bureaucratic, we therefore hand hold the applicant from documents submission to the visa issuance.

Corporate Immigration

Our corporate immigration team helps our corporate clients determine and create the most suitable immigration strategy for their corporate presence and employees.

We assist our corporate clients with obtaining expatriate quota, business permits and any other regulatory permits. We also assist their employees, that are foreign nationals and their family members, secure work and resident permit authorization and entry visa.

Document Procurement & Authentication

Our document procurement and authentication practice caters to all public documentation needs of migrants. We assist with the procurement of legal documents such as birth certificates, police clearance certificates, licenses and permits.

Our team members also assist client with document notarization. We as well help our foreign clients with the notarization and authentication of their corporate documents with the appropriate consular authorities.

Employment Advisory

Workplace safety and compliance with labour and employment laws, and international best practices plays a crucial role in the sustainability of any organization.

To this end, Bloomfield acts for both employers of labour, helping to create workable solutions to balance and secure their employment interests in keeping with applicable laws across different sectors and industries.

Our lawyers possess a sound knowledge of the dynamics of the labour market and market regulators, coupled with years of experience advising both domestic and foreign organizations on their recruitment policies, work processes, workplace culture and guidelines, talent retention, reward schemes, as well as the framework for training and management of underperforming or non-performing talent.  

Our clients are multinationals with global coverage and domestic presence in Nigeria, as well as indigenous companies whom we help to develop efficient strategies for managing all their employment needs, in order to ensure they are fair and compliant in their dealings with employees in the workplace. Essentially, we will help you stay out of and or overcome any employment troubles.

Employment Litigation

Our employment litigation team represents domestic and multinational employers in arising disputes before all courts in Nigeria. Our lawyers are seasoned and successful litigators, able and readily available to represent clients in all types of employment disputes.

We are well equipped to support and effectively liaise with outside counsel in foreign jurisdictions to ensure that our clients’ interests are protected even outside our own jurisdiction. With special foresight and an incredible ability to take the initiative, we are able to help our clients identify and weigh their options, while developing fail proof litigation strategies to ensure guaranteed victory.

Expatriate Mobility Advisory

Our expatriate mobility advisory team provides legal guidance to multinationals on the transfer of their talents across borders and branches.

We advise on the immigration and tax status of expatriates, domestic labour law compliance, as well as employee benefits and compensation matters.

We help our clients devise mobility strategies that takes care of all administrative and legal factors affecting employee transfer, and to keep their organizations out of troubles that may result from non-compliance with country specific personnel mobility requirements.  

Immigration Audit & Compliance

Our audit and compliance department assists clients with both pro-active and defensive investigation matters.

We carry out audit checks on our clients to ensure compliance with the various immigration laws and regulations. We also provide tracking services for short term work authorization and assist with filing of regulatory returns with the Nigeria Immigration Services and other government agencies.

Related Pages

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15, Agodogba Avenue, ParkView, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria

Telephone: +234 2014542130, +234 2014547944

Email: enquires@bloomfield-law.com

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