Law firm TLT increases maternity, adoption and shared parental leave

Law firm TLT has significantly enhanced its family leave policy which will see an increase in maternity, adoption and shared parental leave entitlement.

Parents at the firm can no take up to 16 weeks’ paid leave and 16 weeks’ half pay.

TLT has also doubled paternity leave to 4 weeks’ paid leave.

The enhanced policy also provides 4 weeks’ paid parental bereavement leave, as well as offering parents or carers of disabled children paid leave to attend hospital appointments.

In addition, the introduction of a ‘ramp down, ramp up’ approach will enable those transitioning to and from family leave the chance to reduce their hours to 80% in the 4 weeks preceding leave and 8 weeks returning from maternity, adoption and shared parental leave without an impact on compensation.

The new policy also removes the qualifying criteria of one year’s service for enhanced provisions.

Helen Hodgkinson, chief people officer at TLT, says: “At TLT we believe that having a career and a family aren’t mutually exclusive.

“By providing family-friendly benefits that are directly linked to feedback from our people, we are removing barriers and providing support which will allow us to retain and recruit the best people.

“Earlier this year we announced a significant, long-term shift in our working practices to create a fully flexible and inclusive work environment.

“The enhancements made to our family leave policy go hand in hand with this progressive approach and put TLT firmly into the upper quartile of family leave provisions among legal services employers.

“Our ramp down, ramp up approach in particular is rooted in specific organisational barriers and we hope that this, along with our increased paternity leave, will allow even greater flex in who can be a full-time care-giver to a child and go some way to improving gender equality at home and in the workplace.”

John Wood, managing partner at TLT, added: “We understand the long-term advantages of providing a flexible and inclusive workplace and the importance of having policies in place that boost equality in the workplace and at home.

“To this end, we have kicked off a two-year multi-million pound investment programme to deliver a digital and physical workplace that supports choice, inclusion and sustainability which will empower our people to be at their best, ensuring that we can continue to build on our momentum and deliver for clients.”