Linklaters has formalised its global agile working policy, with employees able to work remotely for up to 20-50% of their time. This is despite the fact that Linklaters signed a lease agreement for its new circa 350,000 sq. ft London headquarters at 20 Ropemaker Street just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Under the new global policy employees will be able to work remotely as long it is communicated to teams in advance and operational roles are fulfilled.
A statement out today (25 August) said: “The policy captures the lessons learned from remote working during the Covid-19 pandemic, reflecting that high-quality work can be delivered whilst working remotely, supported by the firm’s longstanding investment in robust technology. This is a long-term agile working policy, intended to apply beyond Covid-19 restrictions and offices will continue to follow the most recent Covid-19 guidance applicable in their jurisdiction on returning to the office.”
Linklaters says that it is also further encouraging open and continuous dialogues across the firm on what agility individuals might want as they return or consider returning to the office, including:
Flexible start and finish times;
Modified daily ‘core’ hours; and
Modified hours to allow for commitments outside of work.
This follows key changes to the firm’s UK formal flexible working policy enabling any employee to request a formal flexible working arrangement, no matter how long they have been employed by the firm, without having to explain the reasons for their request.
In February Linklaters announced that it had signed the lease for 14 floors 20 Ropemaker after eight years of planning. The magic circle firm will move into its new state of the art global headquarters in 2026 and we’re told that there is no change to the amount of space it is taking.
Andrea Arosio, managing partner of Linklaters in Italy and member of Linklaters’ Global People Committee, said:
The Covid-19 pandemic and our enforced remote working experiment has given us an opportunity to take stock and revisit how we approach agile and remote working. Our recent experience has demonstrated that, whilst we are a people-focussed business and collaboration is key, remote working has worked remarkably well and we can deliver high quality work whilst working remotely. Conversely, it has also reinforced the huge benefits we and our clients obtain from face to face interaction and the value of our offices as hubs of teamwork and learning and this policy does not detract from that.www.linklaters.com