Flexible work schedules
Part-time work as a lawyer: We assist you with part-time work models.
Experience report
Lena Klever has been a lawyer specialising in labour law since June 2015. She started as a full-time employee, then, after returning from maternity leave in January 2018, she went to part-time. She reports here how that works:
How much did you work before your maternity leave and what does your work schedule currently look like?
Before my maternity leave and subsequent parental leave, I worked full-time. After I returned, I reduced my work time 50%. I am currently work four days at week at GÖRG.
Was it difficult to return to your job part-time after giving birth?
Not at all. GÖRG kept all options open for me, and was very flexible in regards to structuring my work schedule after the parental leave.
"GÖRG kept all options open for me GÖRG kept all options open for me."
Have your practical duties changed since returning to work part-time? If so, how?
The content of my work has not changed since I returned. Only the amount of work has been reduced. I still handle clients on my own, and attend court hearings and meetings. When selecting the clients that I handle, it was taken into account that I am usually not available in the afternoon. So, for instance, I am not extensively involved in large projects that need to be dealt with in a hurry. Which is in my interests.
How is the work-private life balance working in reality? How do colleagues and superiors respond to your somewhat restricted flexibility at work?
Before starting work again, I thought a lot about my work day and how to combine it with my family. However, I have been very positively surprised: combining my work at GÖRG with my private and family life could hardly be better. Colleagues, and especially the partners, are very considerate with regard to my work volume, and always ensure that I can leave the office on time. It is rare that I need to work from home in the evening. Sometimes I’ll need to make a phone call to colleagues or a client in the afternoon. If needed, my work can be handled very flexibly and I am not bound to any fixed work times.
As part of the cooperation with FRÖBEL, a multi-regional childcare provider, employees have the benefit of receiving a preferred place in one of the FRÖBEL facilities. Have you made use of this opportunity and are you satisfied with the facility?
Yes, our daughter has been at a FRÖBEL facility in Cologne since August 2018. She’s currently almost finished with the familiarization phase.Our impression of the facility is very positive, and applying for a place for our daughter was completely without complications.