The healthcare benefits gap costing your firm its senior associates
58.3% of women aged 30–45 are considering leaving or cutting their hours over inadequate health benefits. That’s exactly the career stage where firms build their future partners.
Key findings
- Neurodiversity is the gap nobody is budgeting for. It’s the top priority for under-30s and 30–45 year olds, and 23.4% of women would spend their whole healthcare budget on a neurodiversity assessment.
- A third of 46–61 year olds rank menopause and HRT first, and from spring 2027 firms with over 250 employees must publish their approach alongside their gender pay gap.
- Unmet need costs £1.25m a year. That’s the absence-only cost for a 1,000-person firm, the highest of the sectors we surveyed. 84.2% of women say tailored benefits would make them more likely to stay.
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Law firms buy more health cover than almost any other sector, but 55.1% of legal professionals still paid out of pocket for care last year, and 59.2% of 30–45 year olds did.
Our survey of over 900 UK legal professionals found one need standing out across careers: neurodiversity support. It’s the top priority for everyone under 46.
From 46 onwards, menopause and HRT take over, chosen by a third of 46–61 year olds. That’s also the age when women report the most absences longer than ten days.
The pattern hits the talent firms work hardest to keep. Nearly six in ten women at associate and senior associate level (ages 30–45) are considering leaving or going part-time. One in five women has already considered leaving, and one in seven has applied for a job with better benefits. Firms in a sector with one of the UK’s widest gender pay gaps will soon have to publish their approach to menopause. This report shows where you stand before that happens.
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