International Women’s Day: in conversation with family law consultant Jane Craig and our firm’s mission to provide equitable benefits

Posted: 07/03/2025

Our people are the driving force behind our mission to provide truly equitable benefits, including the support to take time off when it’s really needed.

“We work hard to make sure that our people feel they have the right work/life balance, whatever their gender, which is why we equalised our parental leave entitlement,” says CEO, Helen Drayton. “A key part of achieving gender parity is addressing the ‘motherhood penalty’ – where having children can, and often does, result in mothers’ earnings being lower and career opportunities limited.”

Our equalised family leave policy, launched in August 2024, was backdated to April to allow those narrowly missing out to benefit straight away. Several new fathers at the firm were among the first to take up the opportunity, and they quickly shared how lifechanging it has been for them and their partners. Sharing parental responsibilities more equally and for longer meant their partners had the option of returning to work earlier, not only mitigating burdensome childcare costs, but also avoiding extended time away their careers.

The flexibility for families and options for women facilitated by this type of policy was practically unheard of when family law consultant Jane Craig first entered the profession. Head of our immigration team Pat Saini, chair of our firm’s gender committee (employee resource group) sat down with Jane ahead of her upcoming retirement to reflect on how things have changed, particularly for women, over the course of her esteemed career.

Our equitable benefits initiative is central to our DEI approach and broader responsible business strategy. We continue to review how best to support all our people and are committed to introducing further policy changes and benefits in response to changing needs. Through our partnerships, such as with Grace & Green and SeeHerThrive, we are also committed to providing inclusive spaces and education opportunities. Read more about the components of our equitable benefits initiative below.

Equalised family leave

Anyone in a parental role – whether through pregnancy, surrogacy, adoption or fostering – is entitled to 26 weeks of family leave with full pay, and up to 52 weeks total leave. Parents can also extend their family leave by using accrued annual leave.

Expanded compassionate leave

Our compassionate leave policy extends to those affected by the death of a loved one, the critical illness/injury of an immediate family member, or a serious personal relationship problem.

Pregnancy loss support

Up to four weeks of paid leave is available for those who experience a loss during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, including miscarriage, ectopic/molar pregnancies, embryo transfer loss, and abortion/termination loss (with those experiencing a loss after 24 weeks entitled to full family leave).

Fertility treatment support

Five days of paid leave is available for those undergoing fertility treatment, and two days of paid leave is available for those supporting a partner undergoing treatment.

HRT subscription support

Underpinned by our menopause policy, the costs of Hormone Replacement Therapy or equivalent medication/remedies can be reimbursed.

Health and wellbeing education

We partner with SeeHerThrive to host educational sessions on wellbeing topics like the impact of hormones on health and to increase awareness of conditions like endometriosis.