Parental Support hub
The Bar Council is committed to improving rates of
retention for barrister parents, and aims to provide useful sources
of information and assistance to enable parents to manage their
parental leave and childcare responsibilities whilst maintaining a
practice at the self-employed or employed Bar.
The Bar
Council's career break advice and parental leave policy
The Bar Council have put together an information pack which
includes advice, tips and checklists for all those taking a career
at the Bar.
View
the family career breaks advice pack
The content is regularly updated to ensure we provide current
and useful information.
The Bar Council is keen to share the latest in good practice to
support you in either temporarily closing down your practise, or
re-starting your practise before or after a career break to have a
family.
If you would like to share your experience, a tip or piece of
advice with other barristers or you have identified gaps in our
advice and would like further information on any issue relating to
a family career break, please contact us using the details below so
that we can include this in future versions of the guide.
T: +44 (0)20 7611 1320
E: SMercer@BarCouncil.org.uk
You can find further information at the links below.
Nurseries for Barrister's children
The Bar Council is proud to announce its association with the
Smithfield Nursery and Tiny Tree Day Nursery. The Bar Council has
established a relationship with these nurseries (located in London
and Leeds), with the aim of providing barrister parents with
flexible and affordable childcare options.
The nurseries at Smithfield House (London) and Tiny Tree Day
Nursery (Leeds) offer barristers special rates and more flexible
opening hours to accommodate barrister parents' schedules. Special
rates are available to all members of the Bar, as well as chambers
and Bar Council employees.
The experience of barrister parents (and children) at
these nurseries has been positive, as these parents attest
to:
"I could not have remained at the self-employed Bar
without the Smithfield House Nursery. They have opened before
8am for me on several occasions so that I could get to court on
time. They are flexible about occasional lateness when
hearings overrun. And of course, because they are central, I
am able to drop my daughter off and still get a train from London,
whereas if I had had to drop her locally at 8am there is no way I
could travel into London and then out to court on time."
"I know that retention of new parents at the Bar is an issue.
Certainly I would not have been able to come back with such ease or
to remain in self-employed practice without the Bar Nursery.
Smithfield House is an absolutely brilliant resource; their ability
to facilitate barristers returning to practice extends well beyond
the capacity of other nurseries."
For further information on the nurseries and to find out more
about placing your child at one of these nurseries, please visit
the links below:
Smithfield
House Nursery
Tiny Tree Day Nursery
If you have any queries regarding these nurseries, or our
support for parents please contact Sam Mercer at smercer@BarCouncil.org.uk.