Covid-19: Hughes Insurance moves to permanent home-working

Hughes, the Northern Ireland insurance company, has said it is moving to permanent working-from-home.

The company, which is part of the global Liberty Mutual group, has about 250 employees.

It introduced remote working in March 2020 and will continue that even when lockdown ends.

Hughes' remaining retail branches will not reopen but no jobs will be lost, with a focus on ensuring employees could "disconnect" at home.

The company said no staff had been furloughed during the pandemic and it was continuing to recruit.

'Sustain the benefits'

Sarah Balmforth, the head of human resources at Hughes Insurance, said: "The remote model has served us extremely well throughout the pandemic.

"The technology we have in place still ensures that customers feel connected to our employees."

Hughes Insurance is part of the Liberty Mutual group of companies

She said the company was endeavouring to sustain the benefits of working from home while "ensuring that employees can successfully disconnect when not working".

The company is retaining its headquarters in Newtownards, County Down, where staff will be able to work two days a week if they want.

It will also be used for in-person training and meetings.

The move reflects a homeworking push across the wider Liberty Mutual group.

'Culture and collaboration'

There is a debate in the corporate world about the extent to which working from home can or should be sustained.

Lloyds Banking Group is set to reduce its office space by 20% over two years after a staff survey found that nearly 80% wanted to work at home for at least three days a week.

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However, others such as investment bank Goldman Sachs have rejected remote working as the "new normal", with chairman and chief executive David Solomon calling it an "aberration".

Last month, Barclays' chief executive Jes Staley said that working from home was not sustainable.

At a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum, he said: "It will increasingly be a challenge to maintain the culture and collaboration that these large financial institutions seek to have and should have."