UK law firm Stephenson Harwood is allowing staff to work at home permanently.
But the perk will come with a 20% pay cut.
Managing partners at the London company are offering lawyers and other workers the option as companies try to deal with a shift in flexible working practices and requirements following Covid-19 lockdowns.
But partners themselves are excluded from the deal.
A report in The Guardian cited starting salaries for junior lawyers of £90,000 ($113,000). This would mean a cut of £18,000.
Stephenson Harwood, which is a leading shipping law name, has more than 1,100 people at offices in Paris, Greece, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.
A spokesperson told The Times that the new working policy would apply to staff at its London office and most of the company’s international bases.
Full equity partners receive an average of £685,000 annually.
The salary sacrifice scheme was inspired by the company’s experience of recruiting lawyers from outside London during the pandemic.
Staff already have the option of working from home two days a week, without losing pay.
Stephenson Harwood said it expected only a few staff to take up the remote-working option because “for the vast majority of our people, our hybrid working policy works well”.
“Like so many firms, we see value in being in the office together regularly, while also being able to offer our people flexibility,” the spokesperson said.
The company is a specialist in ship finance, marine insurance, maritime litigation and arbitration, corporate and tax services.
Stephenson Harwood works with banks, owners, insurers and shipyards.
