Employment, Health & Safety

Employment law and practice

Employment law governs one of the oldest and most fundamental aspects of commercial life, notably, the relationship between the employer and employee. On one hand, protecting the rights and obligations of employees, and on the other, supporting businesses large and small as they seek growth and change. The law and practice of employment is a balance, and an optimal balance drives success for individuals, businesses and communities.

Health and Safety has now taken on increased importance and prominence in the legal landscape and is a fundamental tenet of the relationship between employer and employee. Relevant laws are designed to ensure that all stakeholders, including employers and employees, have the responsibility of working towards an environment free of risks to health and safety, and conducive to ensuring the continued productivity and efficiency of organisations.

For an organisation to truly thrive and succeed, all stakeholders must recognise, appreciate, subscribe, and adhere to the regulatory framework in pace for employment, health and safety. And this is where our team is crucial to ensuring that your organisation thrives.

Full-service capability to support employer’s needs

As part of A&G Asia, our team provides clients with clear, commercial and practical advice relating to all aspects of employment and industrial relations, at domestic and cross-border levels.

On Employment, with regards to advisory or transactional matters, we advise on all aspect of employment relationships including, but not limited to, share options, pensions and incentive schemes, collective bargaining and industrial relations, statutory welfare and benefits, staff severance and retrenchment management, outsourcing arrangements and transfer or integration of a workforce resulting from mergers and acquisitions and takeovers.

On the contentious front, our team regularly handles all forms of employment disputes, including wrongful dismissal, enforcement of restrictive covenants and post-termination restrains, disciplinary proceedings, employee wrongdoing investigations, breach of fiduciary duties and white-collar offences.

On Health and Safety, our team of experienced lawyers are capable of advising on the regulatory framework relating to workplace health and safety, so as to provide support to employers in ensuring a risk-free environment where employees can thrive. This includes advising on sustainability and protection of working environments, the reduction of risk of physical, psychological and emotional harm to employees, best practices in areas of workplace and product safety, and investigations into industrial and environmental incidents, in addition to acting for clients in coroners’ inquiries and criminal prosecutions. We have partnered closely with clients in a wide range of industries, with particular specalisation in construction and engineering, manufacturing, logistics, energy and utilities, natural and renewable resources, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, healthcare, hospitality, and maritime.

Expertise and experience across borders

As part of A&G Asia, we are able to draw on deep expertise from our associate firm Allen & Gledhill to support clients on their cross-border matters and transactions. Because of this, we are able to provide legal advice on employment, health and safety matters to clients of top labour, employment, health and safety practices in other jurisdictions. We are also capable of acting as the Asia-Pacific legal co-ordinator for multinational corporations on employee integration issues arising from global acquisitions of business operations, and on the legal aspects of multinational corporations’ outsourcing of their human resource functions. Such combination of international depth and expertise allows us to provide our clients with international quality legal advice, tailored to local requirements.