A&O clients on spot over family friendly policies ;EMPLOYMENT: companies taking up paternity leave provisions ;Several clients of top City firm Allen & Overy still lack family-friendly policies, despite recent improvements, a survey by the firm has shown. ;Allen & Overys lifestyle and equality group investigated the impact of recent maternity and parental leave legislation on around 100 clients. ;One client has no maternity policy, 10% have no equal opportunities policy and 18% have no parental leave policy. However, 71% of the organisations allow fathers time off for the birth of a child and 65% give time off for domestic emergencies. Nonetheless, Allen & Overy suggested that the prevalence of policies was a significant finding. ;The survey detected an increasing number of flexi-workers. It found that 19% of firms have a job-sharing policy and 23% allow employees to work from home. A&O itself does not have a flexible working policy. ;Employment law partner Mark Mansell said: Home-working is becoming increasingly prevalent and raises a range of issues, particularly those relating to data security, health and safety and working time. Organisations should consider the legal and practical implications of home-working as part of the implementation of flexible working practices. ;The survey also found that only 21% of employers check whether new employees have taken parental leave from previous employers, leaving them open to abuse. ;Anne Mizzi ; ; ;