A SCOTTISH law firm is to give all staff, who were employed on October 10 and not serving notice, a one-off payment of £1,200 to help with the cost-of-living crisis.
Ledingham Chalmers is investing £200,000 in the package, which rises to £400,000 when discretionary bonuses and awards under its performance related pay scheme are factored in.
The Aberdeen-based firm, which currently employs 176 people, announced the support for staff as it revealed its latest financial results, which include its highest turnover - £12.8 million – since becoming a limited liability partnership in 2006.
Managing partner Jennifer Young said: “Everyone is dealing with a rising cost of living, and we haven’t underestimated what that means for our colleagues, so it’s important we take steps to provide as much support as we can.
“That’s why, as well as these bonuses and PRP payments, we’ve benchmarked salaries against the marketplace and are reviewing our wider benefits package.”
Turnover across the wider Ledingham Chalmers Group, which includes Ledingham Chalmers Financial, increased to £13.6 million from £12.3m, while group profit edged up to £4.1m from £4m in the year to the end of March.
The group, which has added 55 people to its headcount since November last year, highlighted a strong showing by its core corporate and commercial practices. It also said its rural and private client teams continued to improve results.
Ms Young added: “Year-on-year growth in the private client discipline, including residential property and rural, has been encouraging and reflects a lot of hard work from colleagues, as well as strategic investment. The most recent example being when the Simpson & Marwick Aberdeen estate agency team joined us in 2019.
“That, along with a strong performance in insurance and personal injury litigation, where we continue to act Scotland-wide for one of the UK’s largest insurers as well as a host of public sector organisations, and our involvement in some of the highest profile commercial transactions in the north and north east gives us a robust platform for growth.”
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