EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES: 71% claim flexible working important to their future success


Most major law firms believe that flexible working is important to their future success - but only a small minority of people practise that way, research has revealed.



The survey, conducted by employee benefits consultancy Portus, questioned 31 big law firms, including two magic circle practices. It found that 71% of respondents considered flexible working as 'important' or 'very important' to their firm's future success - this was particularly the case with magic circle firms.



But the survey also revealed a low take-up, with most firms reporting that only 1-10% of their workforce were making use of such arrangements.



The toughest practice areas in which to implement flexible working were found to be litigation and disputes, banking and corporate finance. Respondents said this was because the demands of the role - intense client contact and the ability to react rapidly to the other side's moves - required people to be present in the office.



The research revealed that 43% of firms surveyed had male partners and 69% had female partners taking advantage of a flexible working arrangement (50% and 74% respectively for other fee-earners). Working part-time and some home-working were the main options taken up, although the latter is usually ad hoc rather than on set days. Though childcare was the prime reason, health, travelling distance and work/life balance were also cited.



Susha Chandrasekhar, chairwoman of the Association of Women Solicitors, said fee-earners had nothing to fear from flexible working. She said: 'Howard Taylor, senior legal counsel at Shell, has put it on record that he is happy to work with firms operating flexibly. He does so himself and, as long as the firm in question tells him how they are going to manage the project, he'll go along with it - with flexibility on both sides because it's a two-way street.'



Ms Chandrasekhar added that the gender imbalance of those working flexibly, as shown in the survey, reflected the common assumption that childcare was exclusively a woman's responsibility. 'Once society acknowledges that men also want an active role in bringing up their children, the right to request flexible working arrangements will really begin to affect law firms,' she said.



Law Society President Fiona Woolf said: 'The Society has in recent months undertaken a quality-of-life debate to better understand the issues around staff retention and job satisfaction. We found that flexible working is an important part of the mix, but that it is ranked below personal access to supervisors, client contact and challenge.'



Jonathan Rayner