Richard Foley, Pinsent Masons senior partner

Pinsent Masons has reduced working hours across parts of the business by 20% and has introduced salary cuts as the firm takes more measures to offset the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Reduced hours will affect parts of the business which have seen a decline in activity levels, according to senior partner Richard Foley.

Foley added that any salary reductions will take place on a sliding scale, with lowest earners being covered in full while partners take "the lion's share" of cuts.

This is the second wave of measures introduced by the firm, which previously moved to defer partner profit distributions and furlough some non-fee-earning staff earlier in April.

The firm had previously confirmed that it was discussing a potential move to a reduced working week, which has now been approved by the business.  

In a statement, Pinsent Masons senior partner Richard Foley said: "The overarching objective for many businesses, including our own at present, is to safeguard jobs. With events unfolding daily, we will continue to evaluate the impact of coronavirus on a real time basis so we can be prudent and take steps to protect jobs, preserve our ability to meet client demands all the while ensuring the financial stability of our business.

"With this in mind, we are implementing an 80% working week for those colleagues where activity levels, over the next few months, indicate that makes sense."

The scheme, Foley said, will be graduated so that remuneration reductions are "fair and proportionate", with the firm's lowest earners being "protected in full".

"We believe this sort of arrangement gives us the necessary flexibility so we can dial up and down as the business landscape continues to be shaped by [COVID-19]," he added. "As we have been reminding our colleagues, we are financially robust and this plan will help ensure we remain so. In that way, when the crisis passes, we will emerge united and resilient."

Pinsents is not the first firm to have introduced reeduced working hours. Ashurst, Dentons and Norton Rose Fulbright have also introduced similar measures in the face of COVID-19 disruption.

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