IEL Elite

Overview

Market commentators describe Al Tamimi’s employment team as “fabulous”, and highlight group members’ practical and helpful approach.

Samir Kantaria in Dubai leads the practice, with specialists spread across offices in the UAE, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The firm’s broader reach of the Middle East and North Africa (the firm on 1 April 2022 opened a new office in Casablanca, Morocco) means that the team is easily able to support clients elsewhere in the region.

Al Tamimi is a really good firm in the Middle East.

The “awesome” Gordon Barr in Dubai, and Ivor McGettigan in Abu Dhabi, are other key names in the team.

Notably, the department is adept at co-ordinating regional advice for multinational clients from its Dubai office, and is a go-to for magic circle firms seeking assistance with large multi-jurisdictional mandates.

In addition, the firm is the UAE member of the alliance Ius Laboris alliance, meaning it is closely integrated with a global network of leading employment teams.

Specialisms

The firm’s right to audience in all countries where it has a presence means that the employment group is well placed to assist with the full spectrum of employment or labour law issues. In the past year, members of the group have acted for clients in wrongful termination and data breach cases, as well as several claims relating to staff temporarily employed by another entity.

A significant area of activity for the group is the employment aspects of corporate operations such as mergers, spin-offs, and divestments – including major cross-border projects. The team’s expertise in this area was evidenced in its advice to IBM on the spin-off of its Kyndryl managed infrastructure business in the Middle East. The group advised on the transfer of employees, harmonisation of pay and benefits, and remote workers.

The group also acted for German private equity firm Dediq on its strategic alliance with SAP to develop specialist applications for banks and insurance companies, to form the SAP Fioneer joint venture. The team’s advice included the execution of tripartite agreements and the roll-over of accrued entitlements.

The department’s expertise extends to supporting public entities with their employment and labour law concerns.

Clients