Five top tips for supporting flexible working in the legal sector

The pandemic revolutionised ways of working across the legal sector with the benefits of flexible working becoming increasingly clear.

Post pandemic, the legal sector has acknowledged that the move towards flexible working has not resulted in reduced productivity.

Indeed, the option to work flexibly has the potential to improve motivation, performance and retention, allowing issues such as caring responsibilities and health conditions to be balanced with a professional life.

The statistics

The Law Society’s Practising Certificate Holder Survey 2022 revealed that 89% of women and 84% of men responding from across the legal sector stated they were currently working flexibly (compared to 61% and 55% respectively in 2019).

Unsurprisingly the most common form of flexible working was remote or home working.

What is flexible working?

Flexibility encompasses much more than home or remote working.

Other popular forms of flexible working at signatory organisations include:

• flexible hours
• job share arrangements between fee earners with employees working between 2.5 and 3 days per week
• compressed hours, for example, working five days in four or a nine-day working week
• term time hour
• formal part-time roles

This serves as a useful reminder that a wide range of flexible working arrangements are available and can benefit everyone in the workplace, not just women. Though flexible working remains one of the top methods to support women to progress and remain in their careers.

It can help women balance their professional and personal responsibilities more effectively, especially for those who are primary caregivers. This balance can reduce stress and burnout, leading to higher job satisfaction and productivity.

It allows women to continue their career progression without having to take extended breaks, which can be crucial for maintaining momentum and achieving long-term goals.

It helps us take steps to close the gender pay gap by providing more opportunities for women to remain in the workforce and advance to senior positions.

The law

The law around flexible working in England and Wales supports this momentum.

Although, a limited right for employees to request the right to work flexibly has existed in England and Wales since 2003; legislation has broadened this right incrementally over the last two decades.

From April 2024, the right to request to work flexibly is now a day one employment right and all employees can request a change to hours, and time and place of work from the very beginning of their employment.

People seek flexible working arrangements for various reasons, including:

• work life balance
• caring responsibilities
• to manage health conditions
• to work during their most productive hours

This highlights the diverse needs of employees and the importance of flexibility to retain a diverse workforce.

The new Labour government has indicated plans to further employment rights with intentions to consider a ‘right to switch off’ as well as extensions around maternity discrimination, carer’s leave, parental rights and efforts to close pay gaps.

Despite the development of the legislative framework and a recognition of the wider benefits of flexible working, anecdotal evidence suggests that there is increasing pressure across some parts of the legal sector for a return to the traditional ‘non-flexible’ model of working.

Our top tips

Wherever you are in terms of flexible working, take a look at the top five tips that emerged from the roundtable and consider how you can best support your workforce.

1. Flexible working as a day one right

It was encouraging to hear that many signatories had embedded a day one right to flexible working, rather than just a right to request.

The difference lies in the immediacy and guarantee of flexibility.

A day one right to flexible working means employees can start working flexibly from their first day on the job, whereas a right to request flexible working only allows employees to ask for flexible working arrangements, which the employer can then approve or refuse.

Different roles and levels of responsibility may mean different requirements, but most signatories are successfully offering some form of flexible working arrangements to all employees.

Employers and employees are benefiting from:

• improved work life balances
• increased job satisfaction
• higher productivity
• diverse talent attraction and retention

2. Consider what you can offer

Many signatory organisations offer and operate a number of alternative working patterns beyond allowing staff to work from home. This allows organisations to:

• attract a diverse range of role candidates
• benefit from the broader perspectives of individuals with different backgrounds and experiences, and
• create an improved work life balance for those who require it

While these working methods require a flexible approach to handovers, cover and annual leave, they have been widely regarded by signatories as successful.

Flexibility is especially key in practice areas like litigation, where continuous cover and quick turnarounds are essential. By promoting flexible working options, organisations can create a more inclusive and dynamic work environment.

3. Flexibility is the key to success!

An open and honest dialogue between employers, employees and clients with flexibility on all sides was considered key to making flexible working work.

Trusting lawyers to deliver on cases, support clients and conduct themselves in a professional manner builds a genuine workplace culture rooted in empowerment, autonomy, mutual respect and psychological safety.

Flexible working can provide clients with enhanced availability, quicker turnaround through the use of digital tools and reduced fees as a result of lower overhead costs and a legal team who can tailor and adapt their services according to a variety of needs.

4. Consider whether billable hours are a job requirement

Signatory organisations reported that some clients prefer charging structure certainty to billable hours.

Signatories discussed how the profession could benefit from thinking about whether using the traditional chargeable or billable hours method is hindering flexible working and as such, progression opportunities, particularly where employee targets are not adjusted to reflect their true working pattern.

Most signatories reported fixed fees and focussing on the output delivered by teams led to more satisfied clients while enabling a more flexible working environment which can benefit everyone, with employees able to choose how and where best to service their client’s requirements.

5. Shared parental leave

Many signatory organisations are embracing enhanced shared parental leave offerings, recognising the significant benefits for both businesses and employees.

Whilst take up is lower than desired, there is a noticeable increase in men taking up rights to shared parental leave and being involved in early childcare.

This trend not only supports employee wellbeing and family life but also fosters career progression opportunities by promoting a more inclusive and flexible work environment.

Encouraging more men to openly discuss their own flexible working arrangements could further enhance these benefits, demonstrating a wider commitment to employee support and wellbeing.

Signatories noted that clear and transparent communication campaigns including visible senior level support and highlighting those with experience of taking shared parental leave across the business, including from a variety of backgrounds, are crucial to the success of these types of policies.

Clearly, the most effective flexible working approaches are consistent, transparent and require a holistic approach towards implementation.

The roundtable highlighted that there is no silver bullet when it comes to flexible working, but with the appetite for improvement, productivity and wellbeing, flexible working can benefit employers, employees and clients alike.