Rajah & Tann Singapore (R&T) was lauded as an exemplary employer at an engagement session with Human Capital Partners and Tripartite Alliance Award winners recently.
Minister of Manpower Josephine Teo cited R&T as an example of a fair, responsible and progressive employer that promotes work-life harmony through flexible work arrangements and hiring older workers, among other measures. She noted that despite the demanding and fast-paced nature of the legal industry, R&T believes in supporting employees’ lives outside of work through flexible work arrangements, which include the option of telecommuting or working from home one day a month.
R&T has seen an increasing number of employees taking up such arrangements. At present, about 60% of the firm’s workforce, or more than 300 employees, regularly telecommute, and 10 are on flexi work-week arrangements.
R&T is a five-time winner of the biennial Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) Work-Life Excellence Award, later relaunched as the Tripartite Alliance Award (TA Award).
The TA Award is a tripartite initiative of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), NTUC and Singapore National Employers Federation that recognises organisations with fair, responsible and progressive employment practices. R&T has also received the Human Capital Partner Mark in 2017, a status that allows it to enjoy faster response and higher service standards from MOM in addition to getting better advice and access to government resources such as human development schemes and grants, for the next three years.
R&T Deputy Managing Partner Rebecca Chew said: “We are delighted to be honoured for our human capital practices. We believe that our evolving policies and practices serve to bring out the best in our employees at every stage of their career. We see this as an important means to grow our business which recognise employees as the greatest asset.
“Our approach provides support for all employees including working mothers who have family commitments, and hopefully, everyone can enhance their capability in an engaging environment in our workplace.”
One employee who has benefitted from such work arrangements is Ms Chou Ching, who joined the firm in 2017 on a four-day work week. Thanks to a flexible work schedule, the mother of three young children is able to pick them up from school, volunteer at their school and attend their school events while performing well at work. Ms Chou was recently promoted to Equity Partner in recognition of her exceptional work performance.
Ms Chou said: “I am very grateful for the flexible work arrangements at Rajah & Tann that has allowed me to have that bit more time with my children during their formative years, while still being able to pursue a very fulfilling career in a job which I enjoy. It’s an ideal arrangement for working mothers and is also an indication of the trust that the firm puts in its employees.”
