Given the culture of long hours in the profession, it will come as little surprise to many that the majority of law firms have or will be asking their staff to sign the opt-out of the Working Time Regulations that became law on 1 October last year.

More surprisingly, one-in-four firms admitted that staff who refused to sign the opt-out would be damaging their partnership prospects.

The law clearly states that any worker "being subjected to detriment" for refusing to work more than 48 hours has the right to pursue a claim through an industrial tribunal against his/her employer.