Norton Rose moots four-day week to save jobs
Norton Rose moots four-day week to save jobs" />Norton Rose is to offer staff a four-day working week as part of a year-long contingency plan to cope with the economic downturn.
The firm will ask eligible staff to agree to work part-time on 85 per cent of base salary for a year, or take a sabbatical of four to 12 weeks on 30 per cent of base salary.
The scheme will not be adopted unless the majority of employees agree to take part, the firm said in a statement.
The firm is currently holding a consultation with staff about whether to
take up the initiative on 1 May and would retain the option not to use it if
market conditions improved.
Nearly all employees would be asked to reduce their hours, although it has not yet been decided whether trainees will be included.
Any salary cuts are being capped at a maximum of 80 per cent of base salary.
Norton Rose chief executive Peter Martyr (pictured) said: "In the current economic climate we believe it's prudent to take pre-emptive action to protect our business and our staff in case things get worse next year.
"We see an advantage in maintaining our reputation as good employers and we hope to be able to maintain the strength of the practice so that we can take immediate advantage of the upturn when it arrives."
The firm is proposing a similar scheme in offices outside of London.
National firm Mills & Reeve has also announced a part-time working plan to prevent redundancies (9 February).
Staff in the corporate and private client group organised an initiative that saw six staff accept reductions in their working hours so that no one would need to be made redundant.
View results 10 per page | 20 per page | 50 per page
Readers' comments (27)
BlatantAbuse | 12-Mar-2009 5:17 pm
-
Is this in addition to or instead of redundancies?
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 12-Mar-2009 5:41 pm
likely story
sounds like a clever way of getting people to do the same amount of work for less money...
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
clare | 12-Mar-2009 8:29 pm
-
An interesting approach. They promised they would not make redundancies. The quid pro quo is that everyone goes part time. So what happens to the partners?
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Mercuryman | 13-Mar-2009 9:43 am
Norton Rose
This is a really good idea. Most lawyers are already working the equivalent of 4 days or less in terms of hours. Norton Rose seem to facing up to this and avoiding mass layoffs into the bargain. Will other firms follow suit?
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 13-Mar-2009 9:55 am
Good idea
i disagree with the poster below - I would be sceptical about working a four day week in a bull market because you would just get paid less for doing the same amount of work. But it sounds as though there's barely enough work around to keep people busy for four days.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 13-Mar-2009 10:17 am
Sorry state of affairs
With every news announcement, Norton Rose is becoming more and more of a worrysome firm. I feel they're not letting on the true state of their financial position.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Mary | 13-Mar-2009 10:18 am
Good idea
In general terms this is a good idea - obviously it's great to be able to save jobs by everyone taking a hit. And it's not like they can't afford a bit of a pay cut anyway. The worrying thing is that most firms will be using their redundancies to get rid of some of their dead weight - let's face it all firms are carrying a lot of people who perhaps don't contribute as much as they should. While NR is being very magnanimous by saving everyone's jobs - and will undoubtedly be remembered as such - they could slightly be shooting themselves in the foot by not taking the opportunity to streamline its ranks.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 13-Mar-2009 10:19 am
Hard work
The firm is still going to expect people to produce the same quality and quantity of work but in less time. There will be a great deal of people working on the day they are supposed to have off in a bid to keep up to date with the volume of work.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Greggs | 13-Mar-2009 10:24 am
Part(y) time
What happens to equity partners' drawings? Easy enough to knock 15 per cent of a monthly salary but what about a profit share?
Equity partners could end up working four days a week and getting paid roughly the same amount as they would on five. Sounds like a decent deal.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 13-Mar-2009 10:24 am
Cynical Proposition
Rrather than offering these pay cuts/sabaticals why can't those at the top of the equity ladder inject more to allow the firm to weather the storm? I appreciate that this may be a necessary evil but where will it stop? Many City firms are failiing to see the bigger picture, exploiting conditions and employee (vulnerabilities) terms does not bode well for the long term, if and when the market picks up the tidal wave of power may shift, how will firms like the boot on the other foot!
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment