Could we be seeing the end of working from home?

Some employers have started to enforce new rules that see staff in the office five days a week

Flexible working arrangements to allow staff to work from home are being restricted or brought to an end by some employers with offices based in London.

Companies initiated remote working during the pandemic, and many have retained a flexible working policy.

However, some firms, such as Amazon, are requiring staff to return to the office five days a week but there have been reports that staff have made anonymous complaints online about the policy.

Amazon boss Andy Jassy wrote to staff in September to say office working allowed it to "better invent, collaborate and be connected enough to deliver the absolute best for customers and the business".

The policy was due to begin with the return to work in January, however, an insider told the BBC they were not able to enforce the five days-a-week rule due to a current lack of desk space.

Amazon has disputed this and said all employees were back in the office full-time.

'Negative impact'

Amazon is not alone in asking employees to return to office working.

The Metropolitan Police has introduced a new hybrid working policy which requires civilian staff to work a minimum of three days a week in the office.

Intelligence analyst Anna Bruce-Hou, who has worked at home three days a week since Covid, is one of more than 5,000 staff affected. She is also one of the 2,400 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union who have begun industrial action in protest at the policy.

Speaking to BBC London, she said working in the office for an extra day a week "would have a negative impact on my ability to do my job".

"In my office there are four desks and seven people, and even now with the reduction in office attendance I can struggle to find a desk," she said.

Anna Bruce-Hou, an intelligence analyst for the Met Police, is fighting against losing her right to work at home three days a week

The Metropolitan Police said the policy, which came into effect on Monday, "did not end working from home" and that it was aware some staff may have legitimate reasons for not following the policy due to agreed reasonable adjustment or an approved existing flexible working plan.

"Our plans will provide consistency across the Met and ensure we can deliver for our communities. We urge our staff and the union not to take further action," a spokesperson said.

They added that those who continued to work from home for more than two days a week might be in breach of their contract and could lose pay.

'Better financial performance'

Within the last year, a number of large London-based employers have reviewed their working policies and restricted or banned working from home.

WPP, a global communications agency, announced on Tuesday it was tightening its rules and would require staff to be in four days a week from April.

CEO Mark Read said to staff in a letter: "The data from across WPP agencies shows that higher levels of office attendance are associated with stronger employee engagement, improved client survey scores and better financial performance."

He added: "More of our clients are moving in this direction and expecting it of the teams who work with them."

It has also been reported that a number of other large employers in London have asked some staff to return to five days a week in the office, but some firms have told the BBC the return-to-office policies only applied to certain teams.

David Palmer, an employment lawyer, said there was no law stopping companies bringing staff in to the office five days a week

The question of how and whether to enforce employees to spend more time in the office is one that is being debated by companies across the capital.

David Palmer, an employment lawyer at law firm Addleshaw Goddard, told the BBC that over the last six months, he had seen an increase in the number of queries from businesses who were considering a mandate in returning to the office.

"There's no law against a general policy that says employees must come in and work five days a week in their office, but there are considerations around reasonable adjustments for those with disabilities, consideration of indirect discriminations risks," he said.

Mr Palmer added the main consideration for companies should be "the attraction and retention of talent" and that would "depend on business to business".

Could staff monitors via surveillance cameras be used by companies to ensure staff are at their desks?

Companies wishing to bring staff into the office more permanently are now considering the best ways to ensure staff are present.

A survey of 150 financial services companies was conducted in September last year by KPMG, which found that bosses were considering a range of methods to track attendance in the office.

Companies said they would consider using monitoring devices, such as cameras in the office or even under-desk sensors to ensure employees were at work.

For some companies though, incentives are being used to encourage employees back into the work place instead.

Just Eat for Business, who ask staff to be in the office three days a week, offer an allowance for free food every month.

Managing director Matt Ephgrave said the idea was "very affordable" for the firm.

"We're all human, so it creates a moment where you can sit down, you can have a conversation with people you might not otherwise speak to," he said.

Maddie Scoular at Just Eat for Business said she really missed coming into the office

Off-putting commutes

The Centre for Cities conducted research into Londoners returning to the office in September last year.

It reported: "Central London office workers have continued to return to the office since last year.

"Days in for full-time workers have increased from 2.2 days in spring 2023 to 2.7 in summer 2024."

But, it said London's return to the office had been "slow by global standards".

Property consultancy firm Bidwells surveyed 400 employers in London last April and found that the commute to work was one of the main disincentives for going into the office.

Mark Callendar, who worked on the research, said of those surveyed: "What we see is most people going into office on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

"But, on a Monday it's only half and on a Friday it's even lower, it's about 40%."

He added: "A lot of it does have to do with time spent commuting, over a third of people in London said it takes them more than an hour."