A law firm in East Anglia has become one of the first practices in the country to adopt a ‘paid time off’ policy for staff members.

Ashton KCJ will scrap set annual leave allocations to allow all salaried employees to take holiday reflecting their own needs and those of the business.

The firm follows the likes of Netflix and Virgin in adopting the policy, with a trial lasting for the whole of 2015 and consultation closing in October.

The management will then decide whether it can be continued on a permanent basis.

Ashton KCJ chief executive Edward O’Rourke (pictured) said: ‘Anyone managing a law firm in the current climate is acutely aware of the need to be more innovative than ever before, both in the way they attract and retain legal talent and in the way in which they meet clients’ legal needs.

‘We are continually looking at ways to reward and motivate our staff and feel that allowing people as much paid time off as they need is in everyone’s best interests. Our focus needs to move towards overall productivity, client satisfaction and results rather than the number of holiday days taken.’

The firm is one of the largest in the region, with around 300 people working from six offices.

Last year, Virgin founder Richard Branson announced that employees were being left to decide when they wanted to take holiday without asking for prior approval. He said the assumption was they would only do it when they felt that they and their team were up to date with every project and their absence would not harm the business.