Asia-Pacific law firm Allens, which has 1,498 employees, has announced that it will be rolling out enhanced parental support in 2020, to improve the work-life balance of staff in its Australia office.
The package of enhancements, which will come into effect on 1 January 2020, includes 18 weeks of paid parental leave for all eligible employees, as well as personalised support throughout their parental leave journey, with supplemented one-to-one and group coaching available.
Allens' enhanced package also removes the distinction between primary and secondary carers, and allows employees to take leave at the same time as their partner.
Eligible staff will also receive superannuation, or workplace pension payments, on the unpaid component of parental leave and a formal, temporary break from billable expectations where relevant upon an individual's return to work from mid to long-term parental leave.
The organisation’s management team are backing the changes, which were announced after a consultation period with employees, by leading the communications. These changes are also being reinforced through case managers and ongoing internal communications.
While the new provisions will initially be available only to staff in Australia, Allens is also assessing the suitability of the enhanced parental support package for its other offices. The organisation has 40 offices in 28 countries.
Richard Spurio (pictured), managing partner at Allens, said: “Many of us grapple with the challenges of balancing career and family and we are always looking for ways that we as a firm can assist. We think these important changes, designed in conjunction with our people, will be another big step that can help manage those changes.”
