Move aside big 4, here comes Silver Levene!
Pros
Free fruit. Flexible working hours (8 - 10am start 4.30 - 6.30pm finish) If you stay long enough, you get a profile picture on their website that transitions to a video. Firm operates in a paperless environment. Smaller carbon footprint. Free mug with cool slogan (Nothing is impossible). Open door policy with most partners. Though getting them to listen less so.
Cons
Salary is below market rate and there is little room for internal progression. Most trainees under the training programs are languishing in the barrister departments without getting proper exposure to audit / accounts preparation in other departments. Trainees are also prohibited from sitting for exams in December. It is also not unusual for newcomers to have their probation periods extended to 6, 9 even 12 months. Internal promotion is scarce. One can spend years working here diligently without being promoted. Time sheets are monitored tightly with the notion of non chargeable time frowned upon. The point of view being that non chargeable time (administrative work) should be charged outside of the hours the firm pays you. SL also has a strict no personal phones policy. There have been instances where staff have been publicly told off if they have been caught on their mobile phones. According to internal procedure, you would need to run it by your line manager first before making an emergency call. Talking amongst each other is also discouraged with reasons such as “it’s an open plan office and conversations might encourage others to join in and not finish their work” along with “any time spent talking is time that cannot be charged”. Internal procedures are not followed consistently by HR. The slow rate of response to internal queries coupled with serious blunders such as inaccurately calculating holiday pay, questions the very competence of the HR department. The HR department is run by just one person so any objectivity and accountability is thrown right out the window. No unity among staff and there is a constant friction between senior management and the juniors. Staff morale is low as budgets on jobs are always set unrealistically low with little to no support provided by the seniors. Gossip is also in abundance in this place. If you are into dramas, I would save some money and cancel your Netflix subscription and work for Silver Levene.
