Yet another hight street bank wants people at their desks more often
Barclays has become the latest major UK bank to tighten its remote working policy, instructing employees to spend additional time in the office. The company has mandated that most staff increase their in-office attendance to at least three days per week, while some departments may have stricter requirements.
The Financial Times first broke the news, which affects Barclays’ 85,000-strong workforce. Office attendance expectations differ by department, with customer-facing teams - including those in investment banking - already required to be on-site five days a week.
Read more: Lloyds gets tough on work from home
A spokesperson for Barclays explained the reasoning behind the decision, stating: "We recognise the benefits of balancing flexibility for colleagues with the importance of working together to collaborate in our physical locations. Our minimum time-in-office requirements vary between business areas depending on the nature of work and needs of the business."
Since the COVID-19 pandemic made remote work more common, numerous firms have rolled back flexible working policies. Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Halifax and the Bank of Scotland, recently informed senior employees that office attendance would be considered in performance reviews for upcoming bonus allocations, aiming to encourage leadership to set an example for junior colleagues.
Read more: Barclays set to slash CEO’s salary
Advertising giant WPP has also tightened its stance, requiring its global workforce of over 100,000 employees to attend the office a minimum of four days per week. Other companies, such as Santander UK, PwC, and Asda, have similarly reduced their flexible working provisions.
The trend extends beyond the UK, with major US corporations implementing stricter office return policies. JP Morgan Chase has announced that, from March, employees must be on-site full-time, while Amazon’s corporate staff have already been required to attend five days per week since the start of the month.
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Last year, Starling Bank saw staff departures following CEO Raman Bhatia’s insistence on increased in-office attendance, even as the online bank struggled with insufficient desk space.
Meanwhile, the Employment Rights Bill, currently under parliamentary review will make things tougher for bosses by compelling employers to justify any rejection of flexible working requests.
