The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is consulting on proposals to introduce explicit obligations for firms and individual solicitors to treat colleagues fairly and with respect, and not to engage in bullying, harassment and unfair discrimination.
The change to the code would also clarify the SRA can take action to manage risks arising from an individual solicitor’s health issues at any point, including at admission stage, and through conditions on a practising certificate or registration.
Juliet Oliver, SRA General Counsel, said: ‘A poor workplace culture can not only affect wellbeing, with all the distress and concern that brings, but also ethical behaviour, competence and ultimately the standard of service received by clients.
‘It’s in everyone’s interests to get this right so we can manage any potential risks in a fair and proportionate way for all involved.’
The 12-week consultation, Rule changes on health and wellbeing at work, ends on 27 May. Any proposals for change would require the final approval of the Legal Services Board. View it here.
The SRA’s ‘Workplace culture thematic review’, published in February, uncovered concerns about the pressures on solicitors. One quarter of respondents reported long working hours, pressures from clients and workloads, targets that ignored other achievements and worries about reporting mental health issues and bullying behaviour.
Research by the charity LawCare, ‘Life in the law’, published in September 2021, highlighted a high risk of burnout, mental ill-health, discrimination and harassment in the profession. Some 59% of 1,700 legal professionals surveyed were concerned about pressure around work-life balance, while 28% agreed they had to be available to clients 24/7 and 65% checked emails outside working hours.
Moreover, 69% of legal professionals reported experiencing mental ill-health in the previous 12 months but only half of them said they talked about it at work.
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