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Not only is the law firm's new policy for working parents gender-neutral, but it also covers more than what employees in Hong Kong or Singapore are currently entitled to.
Global law firm Ashurst has announced a new globally consistent parental leave policy across all of its offices, inclusive of Hong Kong, Singapore, Jakarta, Shanghai, and more.
Key aspects of the new policy include:
- Moving to a globally consistent offering of 26 weeks of fully-paid leave, irrespective of gender identity,
- Inclusion of pregnancy loss provisions, which comprise 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 in cases where pregnancy loss is after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy (stillbirth 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.
Andrea Bell, Chief People Officer at Ashurst, noted the principles behind this new policy recognise the diversity of family life and establish consistent, market-leading support across all of Ashurst's global offices.
She added: "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 shared: "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."
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