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Citi will hold employees ‘accountable’ for office attendance

Associate Daniel Zona and Trainee Solicitor Luke Naylor share their thoughts on the future of office attendance policies.

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Published 19 July 2023

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Citigroup recently announced that it will start holding employees “accountable” for compliance with its hybrid work model rules.

The bank said in its statement that they are committed to a hybrid work model, and that they have firm expectations that its employees will work at least three days a week in the office and up to two days remotely.

Bloomberg has reported that Citi will monitor whether employees are complying with these requirements, and will even consider office attendance when rating employees’ performance and reviewing pay.

Since the pandemic, most companies have moved towards new hybrid ways of working. Indeed, HSBC recently announced that it will be leaving its 45-storey Canary Wharf tower as the bank is planning to downsize its office space with a full commitment to hybrid working. HSBC is seeking to reduce office space by around 40% globally in order to allow employees to work flexibly, as well as to cut costs and energy.

Citigroup’s hybrid working policy is a very common approach adopted by a number of office-based employers.

A key question is whether employers can compel employees to attend the office for a set number of days a week (or increase the number of days they need to attend the office each week), especially where employees have exclusively worked from home for an extended period, and how (and whether) to penalise non-compliance.

Generally speaking, an employee’s contract of employment can set out the employee’s expected working pattern, hours and place of work. Since the pandemic, people’s working patterns may have changed significantly, whether or not their contract was updated to reflect the new state of affairs. Many employers have struggled with getting employees back to the office where they have worked from home for an extended period.

One possibility is to consult with employees with a view to updating or changing their contract to reflect newly agreed working patterns. Some contracts of employment permit the employer to make reasonable changes to the contract on a unilateral basis.

Another consideration is that employees are generally under a duty to comply with ‘reasonable management requests’. If the request to return to the office is ‘reasonable’ therefore, then employees may be under a duty to comply. Failure to comply could amount to a breach of contract and misconduct, possibly even gross misconduct.

What is ‘reasonable’ will depend on the particular circumstances and it may be best practice to consult with employees before implementing any changes. Employers should be mindful that some employees with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable adjustments, which could manifest as working from home at particular times, or for the entire working week if reasonable. Employers should also remember that if an employee makes a written statutory request for flexible working, subject to meeting the employee meeting the criteria, they should deal with it in an appropriate manner and in accordance with their internal policies.

Employees can request to work predominately or entirely from home (whether or not that request amounts to a statutory flexible working request). However, employees may find in some circumstances they have no right to work from home or in any way other than provided for in their contract of employment.

For guidance on how to make or deal with a statutory flexible working request please follow this link to a helpful guide we have prepared here.

For more information, visit our Employment Lawyers page.

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Longer Reads

Citi will hold employees ‘accountable’ for office attendance

Associate Daniel Zona and Trainee Solicitor Luke Naylor share their thoughts on the future of office attendance policies.

Published 19 July 2023

Associated sectors / services

  • Employment law for employers

Authors

Citigroup recently announced that it will start holding employees “accountable” for compliance with its hybrid work model rules.

The bank said in its statement that they are committed to a hybrid work model, and that they have firm expectations that its employees will work at least three days a week in the office and up to two days remotely.

Bloomberg has reported that Citi will monitor whether employees are complying with these requirements, and will even consider office attendance when rating employees’ performance and reviewing pay.

Since the pandemic, most companies have moved towards new hybrid ways of working. Indeed, HSBC recently announced that it will be leaving its 45-storey Canary Wharf tower as the bank is planning to downsize its office space with a full commitment to hybrid working. HSBC is seeking to reduce office space by around 40% globally in order to allow employees to work flexibly, as well as to cut costs and energy.

Citigroup’s hybrid working policy is a very common approach adopted by a number of office-based employers.

A key question is whether employers can compel employees to attend the office for a set number of days a week (or increase the number of days they need to attend the office each week), especially where employees have exclusively worked from home for an extended period, and how (and whether) to penalise non-compliance.

Generally speaking, an employee’s contract of employment can set out the employee’s expected working pattern, hours and place of work. Since the pandemic, people’s working patterns may have changed significantly, whether or not their contract was updated to reflect the new state of affairs. Many employers have struggled with getting employees back to the office where they have worked from home for an extended period.

One possibility is to consult with employees with a view to updating or changing their contract to reflect newly agreed working patterns. Some contracts of employment permit the employer to make reasonable changes to the contract on a unilateral basis.

Another consideration is that employees are generally under a duty to comply with ‘reasonable management requests’. If the request to return to the office is ‘reasonable’ therefore, then employees may be under a duty to comply. Failure to comply could amount to a breach of contract and misconduct, possibly even gross misconduct.

What is ‘reasonable’ will depend on the particular circumstances and it may be best practice to consult with employees before implementing any changes. Employers should be mindful that some employees with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable adjustments, which could manifest as working from home at particular times, or for the entire working week if reasonable. Employers should also remember that if an employee makes a written statutory request for flexible working, subject to meeting the employee meeting the criteria, they should deal with it in an appropriate manner and in accordance with their internal policies.

Employees can request to work predominately or entirely from home (whether or not that request amounts to a statutory flexible working request). However, employees may find in some circumstances they have no right to work from home or in any way other than provided for in their contract of employment.

For guidance on how to make or deal with a statutory flexible working request please follow this link to a helpful guide we have prepared here.

For more information, visit our Employment Lawyers page.

Associated sectors / services

  • Employment law for employers

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