Freehills managing partner Gavin Bell has informed all employees that the firm will conduct two salary reviews next year and make adjustments where necessary. The first review will take place in March with a decision communicated to staff in April and any adjustments backdated to the first of March. The second will take place in June and any additional salary adjustments will be effective from 1 July.
“Earlier this year we took the difficult but necessary decision to implement a salary freeze, to help us maintain a solid position and to protect jobs for our people during the economic downturn,” Bell said in a statement to employees. “We always intended to regularly review this position and lift the freeze as soon as it became sensible to do so.”
Freehills ended the last financial year in a solid position and expects to reach the mid point of the current financial year in a reasonable state. “While we expect more challenges in 2010, we are also seeing some commercial recovery in the marketplace,” Bell said. “Against this backdrop, we have decided to conduct two salary reviews in the 2010 calendar year, for all Freehills staff.”
The March review will take into account a range of factors including any changes in market salaries, individual performance up to 1 March and, where applicable, any relevant increase in experience. Bell said the timing of the first review will achieve a fair balance between the original aims of the salary freeze and the improving market conditions the firm hopes to see in the new year.
The June review will take into account movement in market salaries between March and June and any relevant increase in experience. Bonuses will also be assessed in the June review for the whole of the 2009/10 year.
Earlier this year, Freehills predicted that the firm’s profit and therefore partners’ incomes would decrease in the 2009/10 year. The firm also made a decision to share any profit above that which was recorded in 2008/9 among staff. This arrangement remains in place, Bell said, but he does not expect the firm to exceed last year’s profit.
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