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Eversheds to switch to blended home/office mix

Eversheds Sutherland staff in the firm's ten offices in Britain will attend the office as little as two days a week from September.

The roll-out of a ‘blended-working’ policy means that most lawyers will be in between two and three days each week, with one compulsory ‘team day’.

Attendance at the office is currently voluntary, with premises operating at 30% capacity.

Optional office working

As lockdown restrictions lift on 21 June in Britain, office working will remain optional, with the blended-working policy in place from 13 September.

Managing partner Keith Froud told the Law Society Gazette of England and Wales: “We have all welcomed the increased flexibility of remote working in recent times, but we also appreciate the benefits of the office environment and, as we look to the future, a hybrid-working model – which we are calling ‘blended working’ – is the right approach for our people, our clients and the business.

Right balance

“We believe that two to three days each week is the right balance, and this will include at least one ‘team day’ where most, if not all, of a team will attend to promote face-to-face connectivity.

“We will phase in the new approach across the summer, with blended working becoming the norm in September, when we will focus on using in-office attendance to maximise the benefits of collaboration, innovation, learning and development (particularly for junior colleagues), and maintaining our culture generally.”

Top London firm Slaughter and May allows staff to work remotely up to 40% of the time. There, trainees and new arrivals are expected in the office at least four days a week.