3 months ago
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A top city law firm has started tracking when staff enter its London headquarters in a move to crackdown on office shirkers working from home.
Slaughter and May requires lawyers to work at their desks in its One Bunhill Row office three days a week but bosses believe some are not following the rules.
Managing partner Deborah Finkler issued a stern warning to office dodgers in an to workers in which she told them gate data will be monitored and shared with the HR department and directors.
According to The Telegraph, she said: 'You should assume that if you are not in the office (or at a client, in court etc.) in line with the police, this will be raised with you and you will be asked to comply.'
It is believed only a small minority are not following the three-in, two-out policy at the elite 'magic circle' firm, reported legal news website Roll on Friday.
Top law firm Slaughter and May has sent a stern email to workers warning them their attendance will be monitored at its London headquarters
It is believed only a small minority are not complying with the elite 'magic circle' firm's working from home policy
Slaughter and May recently advised billionaire Ineos chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe on his proposed 25 per cent purchase of Manchester United.
Last month Cabinet Office minister John Glen said civil servants working from home should be made to come into the office at least three days a week.
He said those working in Whitehall have a responsibility to the taxpayer to come into the office more often and suggested that he could tighten rules that mean staff have to come into work 60 per cent of the time.
While it also emerged new university graduates have got so used to working from home they won't even come into the office for an interview as firms grapple with contending against the UK's post-lockdown work-from-home boom.
It has seen employers downsize their premises, the blame pinned on 'entitled' and 'quiet quitting' Gen Z-ers who entered the world of work remotely and are allegedly resistant to changing their habits.
Bosses have offered ludicrous benefits like pool tables and office pets to lure staff into work, but a new poll suggests they're considered 'useless' by younger staff who want support and benefits directly tied to their personal development.
And half of young managers want a salary boost before returning to the office full-time, research shows.
Slaughter and May recently advised Sir Jim Ratcliffe (pictured middle left next to Sir Alex Ferguson) on his proposed 25 per cent purchase of Manchester United
Under 35s are likely to want a salary boost before returning to the office full-time, as Britons increasingly see hybrid working as standard practice
Leaders under 35 are also the most likely to push for subsidised travel and free lunches, a study from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has found.
Hybrid working – where staff split their week between the office and home – has become standard practice for many companies since Covid lockdowns forced employees to take to their spare rooms and communicate with colleagues through Zoom and email.
With stiff competition in the jobs market, many firms have retained flexible policies to compete with their rivals and to attract Millennials and Gen-Z workers who expect lenient rules. But there is now a growing backlash over concerns of falling productivity, and an increasing number of companies are demanding that employees spend at least three days a week in the workplace.
The firm requires HQ staff to work there three days a week, but believes some are not following the rules.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Office Minister John Glen has said civil servants owe a responsibility to taxpayers to come into the office for a majority of the week.
Shocking figures earlier this year revealed that 44 per cent regarded their home as their main place of work. There have also been a series of blunders linked to home-working – including passport delays and half a million drivers waiting over two months for their licences.
Under 35s are the most likely to push for subsidised travel and free lunches, according to research by the Chartered Management Institute
The CMI research found that more than half of managers of all ages were working from home between one and four days in an average week, with just over a third in the office full-time. Of those under 35, 49 per cent expected a salary rise to work in person five days a week.
Desire for more pay was, however, second to a continued wish for more flexible hours.
Anthony Painter, the CMI's director of policy, told Bloomberg News: 'A lot of this flexibility is driven by family responsibilities and the under-35s – that's the cohort most likely to have young kids and therefore need to work more flexibly. Staff still have an ability to negotiate.
'If you're looking to hire for key positions, inevitably there's going to be a negotiation around whether you can meet the expectations of the people who you're going to hire.'
