HSBC warns employees: If working from home for too long, it may reduce bonuses
HSBC has notified employees that department managers will closely monitor office attendance, and failing to meet the requirement of being in the office or with clients for at least 60% of working hours may result in a reduction of bonuses. The policy requires employees to work an average of three days a week in the office, reflecting the trend of tightening remote work policies in the UK banking industry. Other banks such as Lloyds and Barclays have also implemented similar measures
Informed sources revealed that HSBC UK notified employees this week that department managers will begin to monitor office attendance more closely. The bank has 23,000 employees spread across various branches and offices.
If employees fail to meet the bank's previously announced requirement of working at least 60% of their time in the office or with clients, they may receive lower bonuses. This requirement translates to employees needing to work in the office an average of three days a week.
This is the latest bank in the UK to tighten its work-from-home policy. In recent months, Lloyds Banking Group, the largest retail lender in the UK, adopted a similar policy when determining executive bonuses.
Barclays has also required employees to work in the office more frequently in recent months, while Citigroup closed its Malaga seaside office that provided better work-life balance for junior bankers.
In addition to the banking sector, other large employers in the UK, including PwC and EY among the Big Four accounting firms, have also strengthened monitoring of employee office attendance.
