Ashurst launches landmark global parental leave policy

Global law firm Ashurst announces the introduction of a new parental leave policy implementing a globally consistent framework and entitlements across all of its offices.

Key aspects of the new policy include:

• Moving to a globally consistent offering of 26 weeks fully paid leave irrespective of gender identity
• Inclusion of pregnancy loss provisions which comprises two weeks paid leave for anyone who suffers a pregnancy loss whether it happens directly to them, their partner or their surrogate mother, plus an additional five days for related appointments
• Access to the 26 weeks paid leave entitlements where Pregnancy Loss is after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy (still birth or neonatal loss)
• Inclusion of five days paid leave per year for anyone needing to access fertility treatments
• Removing gendered language so there is no distinction between primary/secondary and maternity/paternity
• Inclusion of Surrogacy, Foster & Kinship Care
•  Legal staff to have a three month reduction in chargeable hours targets when they return to work

"Building tangible support for people building extraordinary careers and a family is critically important." said Andrea Bell, Chief People Officer at Ashurst. "Our global parental leave principles recognise the diversity of family life and establish consistent, market-leading support across all of our global offices. This represents a significant enhancement to our existing policies and reflects how we want to ensure that our people get the right level of support. Our commitment to supporting staff wellbeing will also see us introduce a formal pregnancy loss policy. We are committed to providing the most supportive environment that will enable our people to deal with the emotional and physical challenges that pregnancy loss brings."

Global Managing Partner Paul Jenkins added: "As a global law firm we want to ensure that all our people have access to a globally consistent standard of support. Introducing this progressive new package of measures for our working parents is a key step in that."