The legal profession can often be demanding, with long hours and high-stress situations. UK law firms, however, are increasingly recognising the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance, particularly for working parents.
Here are just a few of the firms that have made changes and offer certain employee benefits that aim to make a difference for working parents.
Flexible working: Fletchers and Stephensons
Serious injury specialist firm Fletchers and regional firm Stephensons both offer their teams a great deal of flexibility. As long as their lawyers work their core hours of 10am-4pm and have worked all of their contracted hours by the end of the month, they can adjust their working hours as they need to.
While this policy surely benefits all employees, it’s particularly useful for working parents who are better able to juggle their work and family life.
Enhanced parent leave: Clyde & Co
Earlier this year, global law firm Clyde & Co announced that it had enhanced its (already generous) parental leave policy. All new parents at the firm are entitled to up to 26 weeks of parental leave, irrespective of gender or parental leave and an additional 12 weeks of leave for parents with children in neonatal care.
The firm has also introduced 10 weeks of fully paid leave for fertility treatment and up to 26 weeks of paid leave for anyone suffering a pregnancy loss directly, regardless of gender. It also offers consistent access to backup childcare provision and five days of emergency leave a year. All these policies will undoubtedly make a big difference to employees across the firm’s 60 international offices.
Paid-for Nursery fees: Vardags
National family law boutique pays for nursery fees for the children of long-standing employees. With 74% of working parents reporting in our recent survey that the cost of childcare was a challenge for them (and 88% of aspiring parents also worried about the financial strain of becoming a parent), this generous benefit is sure to be welcomed by current and prospective employees at Vardags.
Parental support app: Addleshaw Goddard
International law firm Addleshaw Goddard is committed to creating a flexible and family-friendly workplace for its employees. As part of this, it has launched a range of parental support resources, including an app for its employees, which transparently outlines the firm’s parental policies, so that soon-to-be parents (or those considering starting a family) know exactly where they stand and where to go for support.
The firm also publishes its parental policies on its website, so that prospective employees can easily access this information.
Working parents action group: Keoghs
Insurance law firm Keoghs has recently set up an action group for its employees to tackle the issues facing working parents and carers. The group will people together from across the business and encourage open communication around these challenges so that the firm can make a positive difference and better support those with caregiving responsibilities outside of work.
Keoghs also offers enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity schemes and provides a wide range of flexible working opportunities to support their employees to more easily balance work and family obligations.
Are you a working parent looking for a fresh start?
If you’d like to learn more about any of the firms mentioned above, or if you’re interested in learning more about the current opportunities within your practice area, get in touch with us today.
Give us a call on 03300 245 606, contact the recruitment specialist for your practice area directly, or get in touch via our website.