International law firm Allen and Overy is resetting its emergency paid leave policy to support employees affected by the latest Covid-19 (Coronavirus) lockdown measures.
The organisation, which initially offered staff five days of paid emergency leave at the start of a 12-month rolling period, has reset the initiative so that employees who have already used the days in previous lockdowns will not have to wait until the next period to be entitled to this leave.
The additional days of leave at full pay give employees the flexibility to use this in whichever way they choose, such as staggering them or using them all at once.
In addition to the emergency leave offering, Allen and Overy introduced virtual additional coaching towards the start of the pandemic to support those will caring responsibilities. It has recently extended this to line managers and partners who are managing teams that need increased flexibility. Furthermore, the law firm also launched a parent buddy scheme, which involved matching employees returning from maternity leave with more experienced parents, offering a structured programme of helping them get through the initial stages of birth.
A spokesperson at Allen and Overy said: “From the start of the pandemic we have been focused on ensuring that all our people have been supported in dealing with the extra challenges presented by it. Our approach to supporting parents throughout the pandemic has centred on flexibility, to ensure that our people are supported in the best way for their individual needs, which differ from person to person.”