Does the practice operate a no overtime culture, meet the living wage consistently, and stipulate a fair salary ratio between staff of all levels?

Front-runner

Studio Bark

We operate a nine-day fortnight, with every second Friday off for all staff. We believe that time away from the office provides perspective, energy, and wellbeing. To ensure the benefits of this policy are felt, we are intentional and efficient with our working hours. Each week our whole team assembles to ensure tasks are fairly allocated with no-one required to work overtime. This is backed by behaviour from all staff, with no work-related out of hours communication.

Our no-overtime culture is written into the Studio Manual. However, on the rare occasions where overtime is worked, full TOIL is given to the employee. 

Formally we have capped salary ratios at 1:3, so the highest paid member of staff can only earn up to 3 times the lowest paid. We are surpassing this target, as all of our team have a closer salary level. We also pay the London Living Wage.

Runner-up

Collective Works

We have championed a zero-overtime culture since our inception. Our team were predominantly contractors when we set up, and this helped us build a culture where each hour is paid, and overtime discouraged. Our team are also given flexibility as standard, with remote working the norm. This meant one of our team members was able to move back to their home country and has been able to work remotely ever since. The team enjoy the flexibility this culture enables and regularly adapt work around childcare, parental care, education, and advocacy. We operate internal transparency on salaries and the largest differential is around 3:1.

Ones to watch

JTP

In an attempt to combat and reduce overtime, JTP has introduced a number of initiatives to protect employee work/life balance. Board-led initiatives include:

• No out of hours/weekend email policy
• No out of hours/lunchtime meetings encouraged
• Encouraging employees to protect lunchbreaks
• Close monitoring of overtime at board meetings
• Monitoring individual's annual leave to ensure rest and recuperation
• Introduction of ‘Managing Meeting Madness’ policy

Although JTP does not fall under the regulations to undertake a Gender Pay Audit, we conduct an audit to ensure we are meeting our objectives of equal pay for equal grade and job responsibilities. We have undertaken these audits since 2019 to assess whether JTP's pay and bonuses are fair and balanced. The results remain positive; particularly when compared with other organisations and ensures all male and female counterparts receive equal pay for the same role.

JTP is committed to paying the Living Wage in London and elsewhere.

Tonic Architecture

We consistently exceed the living wage and provide a fair salary based on the RIBA benchmark guidance. We provide and indeed encourage a flexible working environment for all staff, with the option to work remotely and/or from a dedicated space in a communal office. This includes an optional four day working week, one of our team members undertakes nature-based volunteering on this day. It is rare to require overtime, however, on occasions where it is 'necessary', it is by mutual agreement, and staff are typically given time off in lieu.

Exploration Architecture

We rarely work overtime and very rarely at weekends. We have always paid staff according to industry benchmarks and have never asked interns, or any other staff, to work without pay. We are committed to never having a salary ratio of more than 3:1 between the highest and lowest paid members of the office (averaged over five-year periods). The reason for averaging this over five years is because the principal regularly reduces his salary for extended periods in order to be able to maintain a steady salary for the rest of the staff.

Studio Knight Stokoe

The practice operates a no overtime culture, promoting a healthy work-life balance for all employees. We recognise the importance of rest and personal time, and strive to create an environment where overtime is not expected or encouraged. 

Additionally, we ensure that our compensation practices consistently exceed the living wage standards, allowing our staff to maintain a decent standard of living. Furthermore, we employ a fair and transparent approach to salaries, with a reasonable ratio between staff at all levels. 

In the interests of transparency and fairness, we also include salary information in advertisements for new roles at the company. Our salary structure is based on objective criteria such as experience, qualifications, and performance, ensuring equitable remuneration across the organisation. 

We believe in fostering an atmosphere of trust and openness, where employees feel valued and fairly compensated for their contributions.

Architype

Architype is a Real Living Wage employer, the voluntary standard recognising regional cost diversity. The practice has established a Pay Review Body to establish a fair and transparent process for setting salary bandings at all practice levels, and to manage requests and recommendations for salary increases.

We operate a time off in lieu system around our flexi-working offering to ensure co-owners take back any overtime that might be required, as it is recognised that occasionally deadlines occasionally require working outside of normal working hours. Co-owners are actively encouraged to accurately record all time worked in their timesheets, in order not only to monitor project performance, but to be able to monitor any overtime worked, and to control this on a regular basis. Our People team check reports regularly which are discussed with studio management teams and early warning signs are addressed.

We Made That

Being the best employer we can be is core to our mission and purpose. We are committed to delivering public good, and this progressive attitude is reflected in the way we empower our team. This is supported by our dedicated Head of People - a progressive role for a practice of our scale. We are London Living Wage accredited and in 2023 we became a Mayor of London's Good Work Standard employer.

Encouraging a healthy work-life balance is something that is actively promoted through all levels in the practice. Time off in Lieu and a clear culture of healthy working hours is established. Some of our team members work part time and we have supported several team members on their return-to-work journey, following parental leave. We actively track overtime. In 2023 it was 1.67% overtime compared to the industry benchmark of 23%.

Gale & Snowden Architects

For the last 12 months the practice tested a change from a 5 day working week to a 4 day working week with no change to pay or working hours in the day. This was to done to create a better work life balance. After this 12 month test it has been decided by the practice to now operate a 34 hour week with flexibility for staff how they wish to work. The practice does not encourage an overtime culture. Staff wages are as per the RIBA guidelines for salaries. The Practice is moving towards becoming an EOT (Employee Ownership Trust).

Elliott Wood

Efforts have been made to tackle the existing overtime culture through the change in working hours from 40 to 37.5  and the introduction of ME days for mental health and volunteering. Salaries aren't openly shared and included in job adverts but the practice carries out an annual benchmarking exercise and gender paygap analysis and commits to ensuring all staff receive the London Living Wage.