Clyde & Co launches enhanced policy for parents

Global law firm Clyde & Co has released a new globally consistent parent leave offering for employees and partners across the firm with 12 months of service.

The policy seeks to provide employees with more inclusive support when they become parents, more effective support as they transition back to work, and consistent support as they balance ongoing work and family care.

Effective May 1, 2023, Clyde & Co employees and partners across the globe have access to full pay for 26 weeks of parental leave, regardless of parental role, expect where local legislation allows for more.

“Having access, no matter your gender, to consistent and flexible parental leave is crucial to so many people both within our firm and across the wider world of work,” said Clyde & Co senior partner Carolena Gordon.

“We know how much goes into starting a family and the challenges that balancing home and work brings, especially when working in a high-performance environment. We want to help our people build careers with us and fulfil their potential here. We also believe our offering is an important means of improving gender diversity, particularly at a senior level where law firms have typically struggled to make significant progress.”

The offering replaced the previous maternity and paternity leave entitlements to provide a consistent, cohesive offering to all employees and partners.

Other features

The new parent leave offering also includes:

• 10 days of fully paid leave for fertility treatment;
• four weeks fully paid (before 20 weeks of pregnancy) pregnancy loss leave for women or anyone suffering a pregnancy loss directly and up to 26 weeks of paid leave after 20 weeks pregnancy for all, regardless of gender;
• up to 12 additional weeks of paid leave for parents with children in neonatal care;
• consistent access to back-up childcare provision and five days of emergency leaves a year; and
• parental transition coaching and parental leave sponsors for fee earners.

Clyde & Co chief people officer Kate Mathias said the law firm developed the initiative following conversations with its gender equality network and through its employee listening activities.

“We are pleased to provide one of the most comprehensive offerings in the industry and one that aligns clearly with our values. People are at the heart of our success as a firm, and we want to ensure everyone is supported to build long and fulfilling careers with us,” Mathias said. “We also want to ensure as many colleagues as possible benefit from the policy, which is why we're extending this enhanced offering to those who are already new parents or may have recently returned from parental leave.”