James McBride

With this reality in mind, around two-and-a-half years ago, Clyde & Co created an employee network, now known as PACT (Parents and Carers Together) for the UK and Europe. Today, our network consists of hundreds of members and is steered by over a dozen representatives from across the UK consisting of partners, legal directors, senior associates and business managers. When we held initial meetings as to the creation of the employee network, we could not have foreseen its reach and impact.

Having been appointed as co-chair of the PACT Network for the UK and Europe last August, alongside my Manchester-based colleague Rebecca Gowling, our vision for our tenure not only looked forward, but we also wished to benchmark our progress to date in supporting our firm’s carers.

After years of expanding our network, re-defining the term ‘carer’, hosting PACT events and demonstrating the positive impact of the network on our day-to-day work, we are delighted to announce that we have been recognised as a ‘Carer Confident’ employer by Carers UK, one of just a handful of law firms to be accredited. This recognition builds upon the firm’s existing membership of Employers for Carers, the business forum of Carers UK.

To coincide with the accreditation announcement, I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Carers UK at the Houses of Parliament as law firms, banks, local authorities and many other organisations came together to recognise the importance of supporting carers in their workplaces. The commitment to doing so reflects not only our corporate social responsibility but also the commercial benefit of the unique contribution of those with caring responsibilities to our teams.

Our firm’s values encourage us to ‘be bold’ and to ‘celebrate difference’ – our PACT network, committee, and we as co-chairs, strive to translate these values into practice. From colleagues having the opportunity to become ‘Dementia Friends’, Christmas cinema trips for colleagues and those they care for, agreeing a ‘Global PACT’ vision with colleagues in North America and Australia and marking key calendar dates such as Children’s Mental Health Week, Carer’s Rights Day and National Wheelchair User Day; our network continues to grow in its reach and impact.

We have an ambitious programme of events and initiatives planned to bring carers together in the year ahead and to uphold our policies and procedures in place to support parents and carers. We continue to collaborate with stakeholders, our clients, our counterparts within our global PACT networks and external experts to ensure that our work is impactful and adds value to both our wellbeing and our practice.

Our accreditation is not the end of our firm’s journey but represents an important paving stone on an exciting onward path.

James McBride is an associate at Clyde & Co