Legal Associate - Corporate Commercial Practice

Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP; Singapore; On-site; SGD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mentoring by partners

Regional collaboration across Rajah &T

Job summary

Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP is seeking Associates with 2 to 4 years’ post-qualification experience to join its market-leading Employment practice in Singapore. You will work on a wide range of non-contentious and contentious matters for local, regional and multinational clients, including hiring, immigration, documentation, M&A and workforce compliance.

You will draft contracts and policies, advise on executive compensation and mobility, and participate in investigations, disputes, and regulatory

Qualifications

• Qualified to practise law in Singapore, with 2 to 4 years’ post-qualification experience.
• Good working knowledge of Singapore employment law and practice.
• Prior experience in employment law is preferred.
• Strong and meticulous drafting skills.
• Commercially astute, with a pragmatic approach to problem-solving.
• The ability to give clear, practical and commercial advice to HR, in-house legal and senior management teams.
• Good organisational skills, and the ability to handle several matters at once and work well in a team.
• Interest in regional and cross-border work, and in employment issues arising in corporate transactions.
• Works well in a fast-moving team and comfortable operating in a high-performance environment
• Proactive and takes ownership of issues

Responsibilities

• Work on both non-contentious and contentious employment matters for local, regional and multinational clients.
• Advise on hiring, onboarding, and fair recruitment practices.
• Draft employment documents across the lifecycle, including contracts and policies.
• Design and advise on executive compensation and benefits issues.
• Assist with mobility, secondments and relocations.
• Provide guidance on workplace compliance and statutory requirements.
• Support on M&A, due diligence and post-integration HR issues.
• Advise on restructuring, retrenchment, terminations, and exit documentation.
• Represent clients in employment-related litigation across Singapore courts.
• Conduct workplace investigations and regulatory compliance work.
• Engage with unions and advise on post-employment obligations.

Skills

Employment law

Drafting skills

Commercial acumen

Team collaboration

Regional exposure

Job description

About the Team

Our market leading Employment practice is made up of experienced and highly regarded lawyers who provide full-spectrum advice and support to employers and senior executives. We have one of the largest teams of specialist employment lawyers in Singapore, and we often work with a regional view. Our focus is high-value, complex, multi-jurisdictional employment work for multinational corporations and senior employees.

Our Employment practice is ranked Band 1 by Chambers Asia-Pacific, Tier 1 by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and Tier 1 by Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific, and is rated Outstanding by Asialaw. It was also named Asia Pacific Law Firm of the Year at the IEL Awards 2023, 2025 runner-up in 2024.

We are looking for Associates with 2 to 4 years’ post-qualification experience to join this dynamic award-winning practice.

The Role

You will have the opportunity to work on both non-contentious and contentious employment matters throughout the employment life cycle for local, regional and multinational clients, including:

• Hiring and onboarding: advising on appointments, employer and employee rights and duties, and fair, merit-based recruitment practices.

• Immigration: advising on the work pass regime and Fair Consideration Framework in hiring, mobility and corporate transactions.

• Employment documentation: drafting documents across the employment lifecycle, including offer letters, employment contracts, executive service agreements, variation letters, employee handbooks and HR policies (such as flexible work, whistle-blowing, grievance, workplace harassment, investigation and disciplinary policies).

• Executive compensation: designing and drafting compensation and benefit plans, ESOPs and LTIPs, and advising on benefits issues in reorganisations.

• Mobility: advising on and documenting local and cross-border secondments and relocations.

• Workplace compliance: advising on Singapore employment legislation, CPF, work injury compensation, and tripartite guidelines and advisories.

• M&A and corporate support: conducting employment due diligence and advising on employee transfers and post-integration HR alignment in mergers, acquisitions and business combinations.

• Restructuring and retrenchment: advising on cross-border restructuring and retrenchment exercises, including pre-retrenchment obligations and engagement with government authorities and unions.

• Exits and terminations: advising on terminations and wrongful dismissal risk, preparing separation agreements and exit documents, and supporting exit negotiations.

• Employment litigation: advising on and representing clients in employment-related litigation at all levels of the Singapore courts.

• Investigations: advising on and conducting workplace investigations for clients in respect of complaints ranging from harassment, work-related grievances, bullying, discrimination, etc.

• Regulatory compliance: advising on and supporting clients in investigations by regulatory authorities such as the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices, Ministry of Manpower, Central Provident Fund Board, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, etc.

• Union engagement: advising and representing clients in engaging with the unions over issues including recognition of unions, employee rights under collective agreements or memorandums of understandings, etc.

• Restrictive covenants and post-employment obligations: advising and representing clients in the enforcement of post-employment obligations including non-competition and non-solicitation obligations, confidentiality obligations, etc.

• Qualified to practise law in Singapore, with 2 to 4 years’ post-qualification experience.
• Good working knowledge of Singapore employment law and practice. Prior experience in employment law is preferred.
• Strong and meticulous drafting skills.
• Commercially astute, with a pragmatic approach to problem-solving.
• The ability to give clear, practical and commercial advice to HR, in-house legal and senior management teams.
• Good organisational skills, and the ability to handle several matters at once and work well in a team.
• Interest in regional and cross-border work, and in employment issues arising in corporate transactions.
• Works well in a fast-moving team and comfortable operating in a high-performance environment
• Proactive and takes ownership of issues

What We Offer

• Exposure to high-value, complex and multi-jurisdictional employment matters for leading multinational clients.
• Close mentoring by partners in a top-ranked practice.
• Opportunities to work with regional colleagues across the Rajah & Tann Asia network.
• A clear path for professional development and career progression.