Our 2023 Pay Gap Report (UK)

At Herbert Smith Freehills, we believe in the principles of the UK's gender pay gap reporting legislation and the issues it aims to address.

In the first year of gender pay gap reporting in the UK, we welcomed the opportunity to outline our pay gap for employees. In year two, as public interest grew, we chose to go beyond the scope of reporting requirements to disclose our partner pay gap. Since 2019, we have also reported on our ethnicity pay gap.

While there is no requirement to report ethnicity figures, we believe doing so is important for enhancing transparency and accountability – a crucial part of improving ethnic diversity across our firm and building a supportive, respectful environment where everyone can thrive.

Our analysis indicates that, as is the case for many other firms in the UK, our gender and ethnicity pay gaps are affected substantially by the type of roles within our organisation; the distribution of men and women performing those jobs; and the distribution of minority ethnic employees and partners within the firm. While that explains our pay gaps, we recognise that we need to do more, and better, to build a truly inclusive firm.

As we continue to take steps to improve the gender balance and ethnicity balance in our partnership and in the wider firm, we also acknowledge that there is more to do. There are still areas of diversity in which we are underrepresented as a firm and a sector. We have therefore developed specific action plans, including those focused on retaining and developing women and minority ethnic talent.

To read our full report, please click below.

Previous reports