Mills & Reeve staff band together to save jobs
A group of lawyers and support staff at Mills & Reeve has volunteered to work a four-day week to avoid seeing any colleagues lose their jobs.
Staff in the corporate and private client group self-managed an initiative that saw six staff accept various reductions in their working hours so that no one would need to be made redundant.
HR director Sandy Boyle said: “A number of people in some teams collectively said, ‘Look, why don’t we all do this?’”
Individually, a number of other employees have arranged to reduced their working weeks, with 14 lawyers and 20 support staff now working fewer hours.
Across the firm Mills & Reeve saved around 25 full time-equivalent jobs by encouraging staff to take four-day weeks, sabbaticals or internal secondments.
Three lawyers and two support staff have taken sabbaticals of six to 12 months, while 10 lawyers have transferred from teams such as corporate and real estate to busier groups, including health and insurance.
Boyle explained: “This is about managing our resources and keeping them in line with activity levels. Arguably, if we hadn’t done it we may have had to take more drastic action.”
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Readers' comments (20)
Anonymous | 9-Feb-2009 10:05 am
Really putting themselves out
Who wouldn't opt to work four days a week given the choice? I like the way this is being portrayed as a selfless act, when really those cutting their hours probably welcome the change anyway,irespective of whether it means people get to keep their jobs as a result.
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Anonymous | 9-Feb-2009 10:46 am
Well done Mills & Reeve
The post (Anonymous, 9 feb, 10.05AM) that suggests people reducing their hours to help one another are in some way slackers must be a very sad and mean spirited person (and if they were honest with themsleves probably just jealous they don't work in a firm that would permit such a sensible move.) You've really got to be a bit twisted to suggest working together to save one another is a lazy and negative thing. Talk about repressed anger..........
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Anonymous | 9-Feb-2009 11:19 am
Really putting themselves out
Let me guess, you work at Mills and Reeve? Hats off to you, it must be tough reducing you working week to four days. I wonder how many people would put themsleves forward to do an extra days work, if that what was necessary, in order to prevent redundancies?
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Anonymous | 9-Feb-2009 2:17 pm
cool!
I think this is impressive.
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Gavin | 9-Feb-2009 2:42 pm
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It's good to see things like this and hopefully the management will avoid making any staff cuts. I worked in a firm where we were given the choice of a three day week or redundancies, despite everyone agreeing to the three day week there were still redundancies made.
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Anonymous | 9-Feb-2009 3:14 pm
Well done
Really impressed by what MR and their staff have managed - good luck
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Coco | 9-Feb-2009 4:38 pm
Wonderfully selfless!
Maybe Anonymous doesn't realise that a 4 days week as well as reduced working hours actually means reduced pay (a 20% salary reduction) and also a 20% reduction in holiday entitlement! I say this was a courageous and selfless act by all to help colleagues. We should be applauding those who are able to think of others during these challenging economic times.
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Anonymous | 9-Feb-2009 4:45 pm
Agree with Anon
go and work for a proper law firm and give Mills & Boon the salute.
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Anonymous | 9-Feb-2009 5:08 pm
Idiots
Nobody in their right mind is going to welcome a 20% salary reduction unless they have a genuine lifestyle reason for going 4 days a week. Even if they do people will only be too well aware that you usually end up simply doing your 5 days' worth of work in 4 days and working until midnight the day before your "day off" (which will probably be spent in any event fielding calls and e-mails on your Blackberry). This is a completely legitimate way of saving jobs
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Spoonman | 9-Feb-2009 5:21 pm
Say what now?!
' Date: 9-Feb-2009 @ 10:05 From: Anonymous Who wouldn't opt to work four days a week given the choice? I like the way this is being portrayed as a selfless act, when really those cutting their hours probably welcome the change anyway,irespective of whether it means people get to keep their jobs as a result.'
Yeah I am sure they are so lazy that they will also be nonchalant about the 20% reduction in pay...your responce is so laced in synicism that you paint a stereotypical Disney picture of a cold hearted old bugger with no friends!
What the good folks at Mills & Reeve are doing is truly taking one for the team and hats off to them!
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