Having had a child, you experience many changes in your life including your working life.

Your working life is affected in many ways such as the hours you might work, what you have to do if your child is ill on a working day, care needed before or after school to fit with your working hours and how to fit everything in and balance the time.

I have realised that the changes to your working life also change as your child grows. When I started working at Ridley & Hall my child was in primary school so needed more assistance getting ready for school, to be taken to school and be collected from school.  Now they are at high school I no longer need to do school drop off and pick up as they are now gaining more independence and making their own way home.

At Ridley & Hall, they have been supportive of me working different hours in order to accommodate my childcare circumstances. They are understanding and know that being a working mum can be hard.

Working in the care and public team I have found that in some situations I have experienced different feelings emotionally than I did prior to having a child of my own.  I am able to empathise more with the people going through these difficult times, knowing that I wouldn’t want to have to go through this process with my child.   I think this allows me to be more empathetic with the clients I work with.

At Ridley & Hall there is a supportive team of colleagues who work a variety of hours in order to accommodate the clients we have, but to also support our colleagues in their personal lives. It is important to Ridley & Hall that staff needs are met in conjunction with the work they complete.

Rachel Langrick

Legal Secretary