Clifford Chance (CC) and Slaughter and May have both launched new flexible working schemes to enable more lawyers to work outside of the office.

London CC lawyers with two years' post-qualification experience (PQE) and above – including partners – will now be able to work from home any day of the working week, as long as they meet certain criteria.

The firm stipulated that lawyers must be working in an "appropriate environment" with the "appropriate technology" and be "able to come to the office on short notice" and fulfil their "supervisory responsibilities".

While the firm has not placed any restrictions on the amount of time lawyers work outside of the office, London managing partner David Bickerton said: "Given our exceptional facilities, [we] believe that the office is usually the most effective place to work."

CC recently ran a pilot to test the scheme.

The news comes after CC announced this week that it had overhauled its associate salary system, introducing two average pay rates for lawyers with two and three years' PQE, one for making a "good" contribution and another for those making an "excellent" contribution. The move was similar to the distinctions Slaughters introduced for senior associates several years ago.

In a statement, the firm said: "It is already the case that many of our lawyers work out of standard working hours to support our clients and therefore we see working remotely not as a perk, but as removing a barrier to effective client service.

"All our compensation packages therefore include a 'technology boost' to enable our lawyers to invest in technology (on top of the laptops we are providing) so that they can work effectively remotely."

Meanwhile, Slaughter and May has also rolled out a remote working scheme for all City lawyers with two years' PQE and above.

Slaughters lawyers are restricted to working from home just one day a fortnight.

The rollout follows two pilots of the scheme. The first pilot, which ran from May 2014 for six months, offered 89 associates as well as partners across four of the firm's practices – corporate, finance, dispute resolution and pensions and employment – the opportunity to work from home once a fortnight.

The firm launched a second, eight-month pilot in March, extending its scope to cover associates in all of its London practices. It was open to associates who qualified in, or before, September 2013.

In 2013, Slaughters held partner-level discussions regarding remote working options for partners and associates.

A number of firms have been launching initiatives to tackle concerns about the effect long hours and 24/7 availability are having on their lawyers.

Most recently, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer announced in May that it will allow London fee earners to work on an agile basis for up to 20% of their time.

In March, Linklaters increased its standard annual leave entitlement from 25 to 27 days, introduced an improved time off in lieu scheme, and began allowing all lawyers to work from home one day each week.

Other firms to bring in similar changes this year include Fieldfisher, which now allows lawyers to work from home for up to one day per week.