Employee benefits

We know we need to provide a great working environment to attract the best people  – that's why we offer generous annual leave entitlement and market-leading employer pension contribution rates.

Agile and flexible working

When it comes to our employees, we’re passionate about providing a genuine work-life balance – and our agile and flexible work options are becoming increasingly popular.

We’re also proud to have achieved ‘Great Places to Work’ for women and wellbeing in 2024.

Agile working

More than 60% of our employees are agile, spending one to two days in the office each week and the rest of their time working from home or elsewhere – with an element of flexibility which can be agreed with your manager.

All roles eligible for agile working will be clearly stated in our job adverts.

Flexible working

More than 20% of our employees have flexible working arrangements and you can request an arrangement from your first day at L&Q.

There are lots of options available, such as condensed working hours, part-time hours and adjusted start and finish times to accommodate your personal needs.

Our Recruitment team will discuss flexible working during the recruitment process.

Annual leave

Employees joining L&Q are entitled to 28 days annual leave, rising to 31 days after three years, plus bank holidays (this will be pro-rata for part-time employees).

As well as annual leave, L&Q offers other types of leave, including:

Maternity leave

An employee who becomes pregnant at L&Q is entitled to 52 weeks’ maternity leave.

Those with more than 12 months of service benefit from the option to take another 52 weeks of leave, taking the whole maternity leave period up to two years.

Employees with more than 12 months of service also benefit from enhanced L&Q maternity pay arrangements, including 18 weeks of leave on full pay inclusive of statutory maternity pay (SMP) followed by 21 weeks at the standard rate of SMP.

Paternity and partners leave

Available to employees of either gender, for caring for a child or supporting the child's other parent.

Employees with more than 12 months of service will benefit from four weeks of full pay.

Grandparents leave

As well as recognising partners during the early stages of a new baby’s life, we also know that many grandparents need to support their children and newborn grandchild.

L&Q provides two days of paid grandparent leave to employees with more than 26 weeks of service.

This leave can be taken from three weeks before to eight weeks after the birth.

Fertility treatment leave

Reasonable time off for fertility treatment will be given. This applies to employees regardless of the gender of the employee’s partner and includes same gender or non-heterosexual couples.

Planned and unplanned carers leave

Employees may take up to five additional days of paid leave, per year, to provide emergency care for a dependant.

Volunteering leave

Employees may apply for up to three additional days of paid leave, per year, to volunteer (this will be pro-rata for part-time employees).

It can be with a charity or not-for-profit organisation, either of your choice or through our partnerships within the L&Q Foundation.

Any voluntary work must be balanced against other demands and priorities of a department.

Armed forces leave

Reservists are allowed up to two weeks, per year, to undertake service in the armed forces and L&Q will top up the pay if the allowance received is lower than your normal salary.

Planned dependants leave

Employees are allowed up to two weeks of unpaid leave for emergencies known in advance, for example, when a relative needs to undergo an operation and requires care at home.

Bereavement leave

Employees may receive two weeks of paid leave in the event of a child or partner’s bereavement or one week of paid leave for other immediate family members, such as parents or siblings, plus one day to attend the funeral.

Long service leave

Employees who reach 15 years of service are awarded three additional days of paid leave for that year only – and then every five years (this will be pro-rata for part-time employees).

Career breaks

Employees with more than five years of service may take up to 12 months of unpaid leave.

Buying and selling leave

Employees can buy or sell up to five days of annual leave (35 hours or your part-time equivalent).

Sickness pay

L&Q has a generous company sick pay scheme for employees who cannot attend work due to unavoidable sickness absence and who follow the notification and certification procedure.

Pension

L&Q will double the amount employees pay into our staff pension scheme, up to 12% of their salary.

Employees are automatically enrolled into a pension scheme when they join and pay 3% of their salary, with L&Q making contributions of 6% of your salary.

Employees may change their contribution rates up to 6% and can contribute further. However, L&Q will not match any further amounts.