Remote working vs returning to the office

The remote working debate continues to dominate the news, with companies such as Zoom, Google, Amazon and JPMorgan all issuing return to work mandates in recent months, some of which have been met with resistance from employees. So, what do you need to know if you plan to follow suit?

Bringing staff back in

For employees who are willing to return to the office, there is of course no issue. It will simply be a matter of mutually agreeing the best times and days for this to happen.

Should employers decide to insist upon office attendance for those who aren’t willing, the first thing they would need to consider is what their employees’ current terms of employment are. If bringing employees back to the office would result in a change to these terms, a period of consultation would be needed. If a change is then enforced and an employee disagrees with the decision, there is a risk of a claim for constructive unfair dismissal. If employees do disagree with the change, then the employer can look at other ways to incentivise the return to the office, in the aim of seeking agreement from employees. Alternatively, if this fails, employers will need to have a reasonable business case showing why the move was necessary before considering enforcing it via dismissal and re-engagement, more commonly known as ‘fire and rehire’.

Another factor in calling employees back into the office is that if an employee believes that it puts them at a disadvantage because of a protected characteristic, they may consider this to be discrimination. Employers, therefore, must be able to demonstrate strong business rationale for any such change.

The company could look at whether they are able to offer benefits, such as discounted train fares or money off car parking to assist. Offering incentives, such as fruit and free breakfasts, may be smaller gestures but could go some way to assisting employees if they don’t have to worry about the indirect costs of coming into the office.

The benefits of homeworking

Employers have now had time to assess the impact that remote and homeworking has had on their employees and the work they do, and they can use this to decide how they want to continue in the future.

Whilst it is becoming apparent that, for many, this involves a hybrid of both home and office working, the benefits of allowing some homeworking should not be forgotten and for many it remains a valued part of their job. According to research from Finder.com, 78% of those working from home some or part of the time saw improvements in their work-life balance. The benefits of homeworking are varied and particularly so as the cost-of-living crisis continues. The data shows that 59.7% of respondents cited “no commute” as a benefit of homeworking, 41.9% cited flexibility over when they work and 38% said it was because they could spend less time getting ready for work.

There has also been research that shows that homeworking can boost productivity. A survey by FlexJobs found that two-thirds of employers reported increased productivity from remote workers compared to in-office workers; 65% of workers said they would be more productive at home than in the office, which for 75% of them was because of reduced distractions.

There are also cost-saving benefits of homeworking for the employer. It allows for an opportunity to review its real estate and possibly downsize.

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