US-owned law firm Paul Hastings has announced that it will be enhancing parental leave provisions for its 170 UK employees, to match the US policy that it launched in July 2019.
The new leave offering, which was announced on 26 November 2019, will be effective from 1 December 2019 and will be available to all London-based staff, regardless of whether they are the birthing or non-birthing parent, or if they are a foster or adoptive parent. It will also be applicable regardless of seniority or length of service.
Previously, the firm provided a range of leave benefits, differentiating between lawyers and other staff, as well as for those with different lengths of service.
All employees will be entitled to the 14 weeks of parental leave to bond with their new-born child. The new policy, which was rolled out in the US primarily, also allows birthing parents further parental and childbirth recovery leave, amounting to 30 weeks of full or partially paid leave.
The organisation is currently looking at the possibility of rolling out the new policy to its other offices in Germany, France, China, Japan and Korea.
Ronan O’Sullivan, managing partner at Paul Hastings, said: “As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we are pleased and proud to offer this market-leading level of support and flexibility for working parents, and to create parity for eligible employees across the office.”
