Clyde and Co has improved its global parental leave offering for all employees and partners who have been with the business for a minimum of 12 months.
The global law firm now provides new mothers and fathers with 26 weeks of fully paid leave – regardless of the individual’s parental role or gender – in a bid to help staff balance their work and care responsibilities.
Introduced this month (May), the policy is effective worldwide except in regions where the entitlement is greater and applies to both primary and secondary parents and carers, including adoptive parents. The gender-neutral provision replaces previous maternity and paternity leave policies to establish a consistent package globally.
Carolena Gordon, senior partner at Clyde and Co, said: “Having access, no matter your gender to consistent and flexible parental leave is crucial to so many people both within our firm and across the wider world of work.
“We know how much goes into starting a family and the challenges that balancing home and work brings, especially when working in a high-performance environment. We want to help our people build careers with us and fulfil their potential here. We also believe our offering is an important means of improving gender diversity, particularly at a senior level where law firms have typically struggled to make significant progress.”
The new policy also offers 10 days of fully paid leave for fertility treatment, as well as four weeks of fully paid pregnancy loss leave for anyone directly involved in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and up to 26 weeks of paid leave for everyone, regardless of gender, after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Additionally, parents with children in neonatal care are now entitled to up to 12 extra weeks of paid leave. The policy further offers back-up childcare provision and five days of emergency leave annually, as well as parental transition coaching and parental leave sponsors for fee earners.
Kate Mathias, chief people officer at Clyde and Co said: “We are pleased to provide one of the most comprehensive offerings in the industry and one that aligns clearly with our values. People are at the heart of our success as a firm, and we want to ensure everyone is supported to build long and fulfilling careers with us. This initiative was developed following conversations with our firm’s gender equality network and through our employee listening activities.”
“We also want to ensure as many colleagues as possible benefit from the policy which is why we’re extending this enhanced offering to those who are already new parents or may have recently returned from parental leave.”
