Support and well-being

We are keenly interested in the well-being of the people who work here and support our people in a variety of ways.

Well-being

We are committed to helping all employees achieve the right balance between their professional and personal lives. We recognise that performing the services we offer our clients, to the level we do, requires a great deal of commitment from our people. Many of our people take great pride in this but we recognise there are other priorities in life too and it is this balance we must get right.

We have long had practices in place to ensure workloads are managed properly. For each department or group, an individual is responsible for monitoring workloads to ensure they do not become excessive. Partners discuss workloads and capacity with associates and their departments regularly, and follow up with individuals who may need further help and attention, either in reducing their volumes of work or obtaining different types of work more appropriate to their level of qualification or their interests.

In London, we run 'performance under pressure' or stress management courses and provide online guidance for staff. Our associate engagement group continues to look at the issue of work/life balance (which we recognise as a key issue for the long-term happiness of our people) and at work allocation.

In London, we have an onsite occupational health adviser, who aims to help protect and promote physical and psychological well-being in the workplace. We provide free private healthcare for all our permanent employees. We have a doctor and a nurse onsite and an in-house dental service. We provide a free gym through which we offer a variety of services, including a masseur, a physiotherapist, exercise classes and fitness trainers. We offer advice and promote good nutrition through our subsidised staff restaurant.

Different arrangements are provided in our offices firmwide, with several offering free gym membership. In Germany, occupational doctors (Betriebsärzte) visit the offices regularly and are available to everyone.

Flexible working

We have a formal policy on flexible working. Options include part-time working, fixed hours and home-working, with some people combining a number of options to find a solution that best suits their needs. We provide home workers with computing equipment to enable them to work effectively. Each request for flexible working is assessed against a number of factors, including the effect on client service.

Currently, over 7 per cent of our people in London have flexible working arrangements. Most people who have flexible and/or part-time work arrangements are either paralegals or in business services. We expect to see an increase in flexible working, given the increased ability to work remotely. We expect this policy to help more women return to work after having children.

For many years we have matched time off for people who observe religious holidays on days when the office is open, and our London office has a contemplation room for people of all religions and faiths to use.

Mentoring

In London, our mentoring programme, in which senior colleagues mentor a number of employees, has developed over the years to reflect the different needs and approaches of our practice groups. Our associate engagement group continues to look at ways to make mentoring more effective. For the last three years, we have also run a peer-mentoring scheme for new partners, and a number of departments are piloting mentoring programmes whereby partners are responsible for the training, career and pastoral development of a small group of associates.