Aviva to adopt home-working as standard practice

Aviva will allow staff to carry on working from home after the pandemic is over

Investment company Aviva is to close offices across the UK and allow staff to work from home, beyond the pandemic.

Aviva, which employs 16,000 people in the UK, said the plans would not lead to job cuts and people could still work from an office if they would rather.

In a statement, the company said: "The way we use our office space is changing significantly."

The time shared between office and home will depend on team circumstances and worker preferences, Aviva said.

"We are combining office space in some locations and reducing the space in others,"Aviva said, adding that staff were being consulted on the proposals.

"Our intention is to invest in our sites to provide a more vibrant, inspiring and flexible workspace for our people."

The firm has offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Eastleigh, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leatherhead, Leeds, London, Manchester, Norwich, Perth, Sheffield, Worthing and York.

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The company aims to reduce its two offices in York, to have just the one in the city centre.

The birthplace of Aviva, when it was known as Norwich Union, is in Norwich

In Norwich, two offices at the Broadland Business Park - the Horizon Business Centre and Willow House - will close.

Staff will be relocated to the firm's city centre site on Surrey Street by 31 March.

Aviva said it was seeking third-party occupiers for its Broadland offices "as quickly as possible".

Aviva offices at Broadland Business Park, near Norwich, will close