DWF appoints co-head of employment practice in the UAE

Thenji Moyo (Macanda) joins the DWF Dubai office as co-head of the employment practice and legal director as the business continues to expand its employment presence across the Middle East region.

Thenji joins the business from Taylor Wessing (Middle East) LLP, where she held the position as head of employment (senior counsel) in the Dubai office. Thenji is an admitted UK employment solicitor and has been based in the UAE for eight years predominantly working on contentious and non-contentious matters on a wide range of regional employment and immigration issues.

Thenji has over ten years’ experience working in employment law advising blue chip, multinational, regional, local and private clients from all industry sectors. She advises on complex employment issues which include global mobility of employees, cross-jurisdictional matters including temporary assignment, secondment, cross border engagement. She has particular expertise in advising on all HR issues including recruitment, termination, employment disputes, corporate reorganisation, mergers and acquisitions, terms and conditions, company policies and procedures. Thenji is a visiting employment law lecturer at the University of Middlesex (Dubai) and an active volunteer lawyer with the pro-bono scheme at the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) courts and DMCC Free Zone Mediation Centre.

At DWF, Thenji will bring her highly regarded expertise to work alongside Shiraz Sethi (regional managing partner and co-head of employment) and Ali Al Assaad (senior associate – employment) to strengthen DWF’s thriving employment offering across the Middle East region.

Regional managing partner for DWF Middle East LLP, Shiraz Sethi was delighted by the appointment, “We are continuing to build our international capacity and capability to serve our clients’ needs across the Middle East region, and Thenji is a crucial part of this strategy. This is an exciting time for Thenji to be joining the employment practice especially following the recent enactment of the New DIFC Employment Law and the anticipated departure from End of Service Gratuity in the DIFC in early 2020. We foresee that the regional employment legal landscape will continue to change in line with international best practices and standards, and we look to Thenji to further bolster our employment expertise and enhance our client offering.”

Thenji said, “I am delighted to be joining DWF to join forces with Shiraz to co-head the Employment practice. A lawyer whom I know shares a similar vision to mine in offering our clients with specialist “out of the box” employment advice to advance our client’s business objectives. I have been following DWF’s upward trajectory within the Middle East with interest, and I am excited to be joining such an innovative and successful business, particularly a firm that is committed to diversity and inclusion which I am passionate about myself.”