The role

We are looking for a Mid-to-Senior Associate to join our busy Employment practice in KSA to focus on contentious and non-contentious matters. The ideal candidate will have a strong employment background, gained within a large-scale international or regional top tier firm.

Key responsibilities

• Advising clients on compliance with local laws and regulations. Instructing and liaising with correspondent law firms across the region;
• Acting for regional conglomerates, multination clients and Government owned entities, eg PiF subsidiaries on a range of issues, including start up employment infrastructure, corporate governance and senior executive incentive schemes;
• Advising clients on large scale restructuring exercises including employee communications and drafting documents;
• Advising clients on workforce nationalisation and structuring issues;
• Advising on workforce conduct issues and other internal issues including carrying out fact finding and internal investigations on behalf of clients including implementing recommendations;
• Providing advice and support to clients on a full range of employment issues, including recruitment and sponsorship procedures, remuneration and benefits packages, grievance and disciplinary procedures and issues arising on the termination of employment
• Supporting the corporate department with employment issues arising out of transactions, such as undertaking employment due diligence, drafting warranties and indemnities in agreements and the transfer of employees;
• Drafting and amending employment contracts, employee handbooks, policies and procedures and other employment related documentation;
• Advising clients in the healthcare, education, energy, insurance, construction and aviation sectors on employment specific issues arising in these sectors;
• Defending clients on large scale and complex employment disputes in the local courts and in the financial centres
• Advising clients on settlement of disputes and drafting settlement agreements.
• Advising clients on immigration matters.

Candidate requirements

The ideal applicant will:

• Have worked extensively on employment-related matters. Regional experience would be an advantage;
• Be a Saudi national (preferred) or bilingual (Arabic & English)
• Have experience of working at a large-scale international or regional top tier law firm;
• Demonstrates an ability to interact confidently with clients and develop business pro-actively;
• Have attained a degree certificate(s) from a reputed institution, achieving a minimum grade of 2:1 or equivalent;
• Have a mature and flexible personality and is able to work well within a team;
• Be self-motivated and possesses a very pro-active attitude towards completing jobs and developing business; and
• Has a genuine commitment to building a career with Clyde & Co in the Middle East.

Role Competency Requirements

Technical Excellence

• Technical legal expertise: the knowledge of the law and ability to apply it
• Research: the ability to conduct research effectively and apply it commercially
• Managing legal processes: the ability to ensure all legal processes are followed efficiently and effectively

People and Team

• Guiding individual performance and development: develops the skills of self and others
• Teamwork and collaboration: working cooperatively and effectively with others
• Leadership: creating high performing teams

Client Relationships and Business Development

• Building business relationships: establishing, maintaining and using relationships to create and develop business opportunities
• Commercial thinking: understanding the commercial drivers
• Cross-selling and business development

Finance and Practice Management

• Finance management and understanding of the business
• Project management: ensuring projects are delivered
• Knowledge sharing

Personal Effectiveness

• Communication
• Clarity of thinking
• Personal contribution

Team Description

Our employment team has been advising clients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on employment matters for over a decade. Our 3 dedicated employment partners cumulatively boast over 40 years' of local law experience and manage the largest employment team of any international firm in the Middle East.

We strategically guide and advise our clients on the full spectrum of employment issues both contentious and non-contentious throughout their business life cycle, from onboarding to restructuring and everything in between. Complex advice has included linking restructures of a business with Saudisation considerations, internal employment infrastructure (delegation of authority, services agreements, contracts, and internal work regulations), sensitive employee relations matters involving workplace investigations, managed employee exits and employment terminations. Our contentious work has seen us defend clients (in a range of sectors) against a variety of large scale and complex claims across the Kingdom at both the Settlement Body for the resolution of disputes and the Labour Courts.

Our team advises on compliance with Saudization regulations and resource management in light of these requirements (part time working, hourly workers, coop traineeships and interns), including potential off-shoring of roles, outsourcing, the use of secondments and assignments as well as retention tools such as bonus, long term and short-term incentive programs. We have also drafted these schemes for clients in different sectors and with different ownership structures (e.g. privately and government owned).

We regularly advise on the employment aspects of corporate transactions including business restructures, mergers and acquisitions as well as demergers as business groups are streamlined. We have advised Government authorities on their restructures as well as PIF owned entities which has involved advising on the need for Royal decrees to govern the restructure as well as advising on government regulations in this regard. For many PiF owned entities we have advised them in their 'start up' phase assisting them in drafting and putting in place key internal frameworks from the Board downwards, drafting services agreements, contracts, Internal Work Regulations We are now advising foreign companies of the Riyadh HQ regulations and the wider requirements to have a regional headquarters in the Kingdom to contract with government authorities as well as exemptions from the rules. With the introduction of a new Lawyers Code, we have also become advisors to international law firms seeking to set up in the Kingdom

Trusted employment advisors to the region's biggest players and acting with a sector focus. We have three key client pillars, government clients (which includes PiF subsidiaries and government entites), regional conglomerates (family businesses) and multinational clients. We have specialist sector knowledge in the following sectors: energy, technology, healthcare, education, and financial services (including insurance).

Clyde & Co, MEA

With over 30 years' experience in the region and the largest presence of any international law firm, we pride ourselves on being able to help clients recognise and overcome the challenges of doing business in the Middle East and Africa.

In terms of our Middle East foot print, our more than 40 partners and 150 legal professionals work from four offices located in the region's major commercial hubs, enabling us to support our clients across the full spectrum of their corporate and commercial needs throughout the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and wider Levant.

In Africa, Clyde & Co is one of the largest international law firms operating on the continent, with over 120 lawyers helping clients to enter and operate in Africa.

We have been active in the region for over 20 years, advising on complex multi-jurisdictional transactions that include some of the continent's largest infrastructure and energy projects.

About the Firm

Clyde & Co is a leading global law firm, with 480 partners, 2400 lawyers, 3200 legal professionals and 5000 people in over 60 offices and associated offices worldwide.

We specialise in the sectors that underpin global trade and commercial activity, namely: energy, marine, insurance, transport, construction, trade and commodities. We are globally integrated, offering a comprehensive range of contentious and non-contentious legal services and commercially minded legal advice to businesses operating across the world.

We are committed to operating in a responsible way. This means progressing towards a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity of our communities and clients, using our legal skills to support our communities through pro bono work, volunteering and charitable partnerships, and minimising the impact we have on the environment.

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