About Us Diversity, Wellbeing & Inclusion

Our goal is for our people and our clients to feel included, valued and nurtured within their business environment irrespective of their race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.

Diversity, wellbeing & inclusion at MacRoberts

At MacRoberts, we actively promote equal opportunities and we have developed a workforce which reflects the Scottish population in terms of age, gender, religion, belief, race, sexual orientation and disability.

Our formal Diversity & Inclusion Policy incorporates the standards set by the Law Society of Scotland and we provide a working environment where all individuals can best utilise their skills, free from inequality, with all personnel decisions merit-based. We do not differentiate on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital status, civil partner status, pregnancy, maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, national origin, religion, belief, sex or sexual orientation. We are also proud of our diversity ratio where 68% of our staff are female, one-third of our partnership is female, and our management board is 50:50 gender balanced. We share diversity data with our people on an annual basis.

Leadership & accountability

Our Director of People & Development, Rupa Mooker, has overall responsibility for diversity and inclusion within our firm. Rupa sits on the Law Society of Scotland's Equality and Diversity Committee and has an active role in shaping strategy and policy across the Scottish legal sector.

At MacRoberts, Rupa is supported by a formal Diversity, Wellbeing & Inclusion Committee, comprising people from all areas and levels of seniority who are dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion across the firm.

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Promotion of social inclusion within our working environment

We are active members of the PRIME programme – an organisation that focuses on ensuring a career in law is open to talent from all economic and social backgrounds. We also have a formal Modern Apprenticeship Scheme, in which we commit to employing a minimum of four apprentices per annum and we take a minimum of five work experience students per annum. We are proud to be a Living Wage accredited employer and we have also signed up to the Scottish Business Pledge.

Promotion of good mental health for all of our people to ensure they are happy, healthy & productive

As a sector associated with long hours, stress and no regular work pattern, the legal profession has not been highly regarded in prioritising mental health, with the Law Society of Scotland highlighting that one in five solicitors will face a mental health condition at some point in their career. There remains an attitude that these conditions are something which is to be expected, and therefore tolerated, in a legal environment; however, not seeking or being provided with the right support can impact on an individual’s long-term as well as short-term health.

The mental health of each member of our staff is therefore of paramount importance to us and we endeavour to ensure that our staff are happy, healthy and productive. Some ways in which we do this include mental health awareness training for all staff, Mental Health First Aiders, monthly 'Fika' sessions, online exercise classes, all-staff summer “away” days, CSR days, career breaks and access to a confidential counselling service.

Promotion of our commitment to racial equality throughout the organisation

We collaborate closely with the Scottish Ethnic Minority Lawyers’ Association (SEMLA) including co-hosting events and work closely with the Law Society of Scotland (LSS) to understand what barriers exist for those from an ethnically diverse background.

We advertise our commitment to racial equality widely across our website and recruitment materials to encourage those from ethnically diverse backgrounds to apply for our job opportunities.

Provision of a safe, securing and supporting environment for all disabled employees and potential employees

We are Disability Confident Employers and we advertise our commitment to disability equality widely across our website and recruitment process to encourage disabled candidates to apply. Required and reasonable adjustments are made for all disabled staff and potential disabled employees either at work or during our recruitment process.

Promotion of LGBTQ+ issues firmwide to ensure all employees feel comfortable being their true self at work

We are proud supporters of the LGBTQ+ community and we are striving to educate on LGBTQ+ issues firmwide. We have identified that there can be significant mental health implications for LGBTQ+ individuals when complete inclusivity is not achieved. We also want to ensure that colleagues and clients alike know that we actively promote and support this community.

In 2018, the Law Society of Scotland’s ‘Profile of the Profession’ survey identified that a third of LGBTQ+ respondents were not, or would not be, entirely comfortable being out at work. In response, we are making active efforts, as a firm, not to form part of this statistic. We recognise that, historically, the legal profession has been slow to identify and respond to the LGBTQ+ community’s position and issues within the workplace. At MacRoberts, we are aiming to curb this negative trend of the profession.

Awards in recognition of our approach to diversity and inclusion

In 2022, the firm was awarded enei's Silver TIDEMark. TIDE is enei's self-assessment evaluation and benchmarking tool which measures an organisation's overall approach to and progress on diversity and inclusion.

MacRoberts was named as Diversity Star Performer at The Herald & GenAnalytics Diversity Awards 2019. We received the award in acknowledgement of “an outstanding commitment and leadership to harnessing the benefits of a diverse workforce internally and externally, whilst demonstrating an understanding for the importance of diversity within industry”.

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Our Awards & Accreditations

  • In 2016, we were one of the first law firms in Scotland to become accredited Living Wage employers.

  • Shortlisted for Firm of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2022.

  • Winners of Corporate & Commercial Team of the Year and Family Law Team of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2020.

  • Our Real Estate team won the Property Team of the Year Award at the British Legal Awards in 2018.

  • Winner of SME of the Year at the Scottish SME Awards 2017, hosted by Scottish Business Insider.

  • Highly Commended for Commercial Team of the Year at the British Legal Awards 2016.

  • In 2019, MacRoberts achieved Cyber Essentials Plus certification, a UK Government entry-level information security standard. 

  • MacRoberts holds the ISO 9001:2015 certification for Quality Management, the most widely recognised quality management system standard in the world.

  • Iso 14001 2015 Environmental Management

    MacRoberts holds the ISO14001:2015 certification for Environmental Management, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to environmental awareness.

  • MacRoberts holds the ISO27001:2013 certification for Information Security, an internationally recognised security gold standard.

  • Business continuity is a critical element of the Business Management System at MacRoberts and we hold full accreditation with the ISO 22301:2019.

  • MacRoberts is a member of IP Inclusive, a network of intellectual property professionals working to make our community more equal, diverse and inclusive.

  • We are active members of the PRIME Programme – an organisation that focuses on ensuring a career in law is open to talent from all economic and social backgrounds.

  • MacRoberts supports the Scottish Business Pledge, a values-led partnership between Government and business that is based on boosting productivity and competitiveness through fairness, equality and sustainable employment.

  • We are supporters of the Partnership for Change, a network of organisations and individuals who share a common ambition to improve diversity on boards and in senior leadership.

  • We are a member of the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (ENEI), a UK-based not-for-profit organisation which helps employers build and maintain diverse teams and inclusive cultures through our membership, training, and consultancy services.

  • In 2022, MacRoberts was awarded enei's Silver TIDEMark. TIDE is enei's self-assessment evaluation and benchmarking tool which measures an organisation's overall approach and progress on diversity and inclusion.

  • MacRoberts is a Disability Confident employer, and are committed to disability equality across our firm.

  • MacRoberts fully supports flexible working practices and supports family-friendly working practices.

  • In 2022, MacRoberts received a Bronze Award in Stonewall's Workplace Equality Index for our commitment to LGBTQI+ inclusivity in the workplace.

  • MacRoberts is a longstanding member of Scotland Food & Drink, the leading trade association for Scotland's food and drink industry.

  • MacRoberts is an Associate Member of SELECT, Scotland's largest construction trade association.

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