Working at Blue Pencil, a Lifestyle Choice

April 9, 2021

As we pride ourselves on being an employer of choice with best practice employment policies, we recently introduced a total flexibility working policy along with an unlimited annual leave allowance which makes us one of the very few employers in the Recruitment sector to offer such innovative practices.

For us, total flexibility means affording our employees the opportunity to work either from home, the office or another location of their choice that suits their lifestyle and in a way that fits in with their commitments as well as ours. Although our Consultants do have to work a minimum number of contractual hours depending on whether they are full or part-time, how they work these hours is up to them as we judge by outputs rather than a given way of working. By offering such flexibility, we believe that we are helping support the work/life balance that our consultants need in order to juggle their professional and personal needs. This flexibility is supplemented by our innovative approach to annual leave which is no longer artificially capped at a given number of days. Instead, whilst we do require our consultants to take a minimum of 20 days of annual leave per annum, there is no absolute ceiling  on the amount of leave they can take providing there are no performance concerns around their work and they are achieving their targets. Trust is what matters most in an employment relationship and we believe that by treating everyone reasonably, they will feel more valued which in turn translates into higher overall performance - a “win win” for the firm.

 
One of our Associate Directors, Simon Kilvert-Jones, illustrates our approach perfectly. Simon had been working for another Recruitment Consulting firm. By chance, he came across our advert on LinkedIn and thought that our offering was innovative. Although Simon had no experience of the legal sector, he had spent many years as a Senior Recruiter dealing with professional staff recruitment.


Living on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors with a young family, Simon knew he wanted a role and a way of working that would afford him the lifestyle he needed to balance his family life along with the demands associated with recruitment at a senior level. He also wanted a collegiate and supportive culture with an emphasis on team success as opposed to the more matter of fact individualistic cultures than can be found in some  recruitment firms.

Having spent many years working in the recruitment business, you reach a certain point in your career where you want to be treated in a mature way and allowed the flexibility to work in line with your lifestyle/family needs.  

I was attracted by the flexible working options on offer and also the sense that you would be given a fair opportunity to prove yourself which is important if you want to be successful in an area of recruitment that is new to you. I work from home now which is great as there are few commutable locations near me. Blue Pencil has given me a greater work life balance and a very real sense of professional purpose in a supportive and trusting environment.

Simon Kilvert-Jones

If you are an experienced Recruitment professional and you are looking for greater flexibility and progression, Blue Pencil may well be the employer for you.  If you would like to discuss our openings please email chris.lipscomb@bluepencil-legal.com

Blue Pencil is looking to hire a number of legal recruitment consultants in 2020 as the firm continues with its rapid expansion plans.