International law firm Taylor Wessing is asking its employees to sign up to a flexible hours programme, which will reduce hours and pay up to a maximum of 20%.
The organisation sees the scheme as a way to support employees and preserve jobs during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. While the scheme will be applied across the whole business, it will only be used in areas that are quiet during this period.The graduated pay scheme will be implemented to ensure affected employees' pay is reduced in a fair and proportionate manner. The lowest earners within the organisation are exempt from the programme.All of the organisation's other benefits will remain the same, regardless of the number of hours worked.Taylor Wessing is also to delay salary reviews until autumn 2020, however, bonuses relating to last year's performance will still be awarded.
There will also be a reduction of 20% to partner drawings, in addition to the withholding of distributions announced in April 2020. However, partners will continue to work 100% of their normal working hours.
Taylor Wessing is currently consulting on the programme and and aims to implement it on 1 June 2020.
Shane Gleghorn, managing partner at Taylor Wessing, said: "We are fortunate that our business is well-structured, our performance across a number of groups is robust and we continue to win great work. Despite the impact of the crisis, we anticipate that many areas of our business will remain busy, which is why having a flexible programme is so important.
"We believe the collective agreement to these proposals will be the best way to enable Taylor Wessing to respond nimbly to the stresses and demands of the crisis, while continuing to support our people and provide excellent service to our clients.
"The impact of the crisis on the economy has meant that difficult decisions need to be made. Our overriding priority is the wellbeing of our people. We are taking these steps to look after the long-term health of our business; we do so with an eye firmly on our values and our responsibility to each of our people."
