Ashurst Ends Reduced Hours Scheme, Reopens London Base With Temperature Checks
The firm has introduced several precautionary measures into its London base, including temperature checks.
July 14, 2020 at 10:08 AM
3 minute read
The firm introduced the reduced hours scheme for global staff in May, along a package of other measures.
Ashurst has ended its global reduced hours and pay scheme after three months, following an internal review.
The policy, which came into force at the start of May in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saw staff across the firm's global offices work 80% of their usual hours and receive 20% less pay.
The official scheme will end July 31, according to a statement by global managing partner Paul Jenkins, but eligible staff who prefer working at 80% capacity will have the option to continue to do so.
Jenkins added in a statement: "Participation in our reduced working scheme, introduced as part of the Stronger Together Programme, was very strong with over 99% of eligible staff across the global firm taking part.
"We are proud of the response and the commitment and willingness that everyone in the firm has shown to pull together as a united team during a challenging period in the market."
The reduced hours scheme scheme was one of a number of measures brought in by the firm in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other measures included furloughing staff and reducing partner drawings.
The firm also split its annual bonuses into two, with the first half still on track to be paid out at the end of July, according to one London Ashurst partner.
The firm has also begun to let its people return to its London office following a survey of staff.
A number of precautionary measures have been implemented for the return, including temperature senors at the building entrances, staggered starting and finishing times between practices, perspex screens for reception desks and restaurant tills and one-way systems for the building, according to a spokesperson for the firm.
The firm has also put in place restrictions on individual office numbers, barred large meetings and disallowed all but essential external visitors, the firm added.
A number of firms moved staff onto reduced hours and pay schemes in light of the coronavirus including Simmons & Simmons, Taylor Wessing and Norton Rose Fulbright.
Other firms to have reopened their London bases include Slaughter and May, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters.
Read More
Firms Delay Melbourne Office Reopen Plans After Coronavirus Spike
Norton Rose Shuttered Dubai Office After COVID-19 Resurgence
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
KWM Adds Three New Partners in Singapore and Australia
Whistleblowing in 2025: What's on the Horizon for GCs?
Quartet Of Firms Secure Roles as LG Group’s IT Services Arm Lists for $823M
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1TikTok Opts Not to Take Section 230 Immunity Fight to U.S. Supreme Court
- 2Feasting, Pledging, and Wagering, Philly Attorneys Prepare for Super Bowl
- 3Special Section: 2025 Real Estate Trends
- 4Snap Paid $63M in Fees to 2 Am Law 200 Firms in '24
- 5Lawyers Across Political Spectrum Launch Public Interest Team to Litigate Against Antisemitism
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
