Staff in London are working from home more than anywhere else in Britain – with half of employees still at their kitchen table or ‘hybrid working’.
In other areas of the country they are much more likely to have gone back to the workplace full-time, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
In Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the North East, just 18 to 20 per cent of people are still shunning the office all or part of the time.
The data lay bare the divide between London and the rest of the nation. The capital has a high concentration of wealthy white-collar workers, able to do desk-based jobs from home.
And employers at City firms, desperate to attract the best talent, are forced to offer as many ‘perks’ as they can.
Chetan Patel, of recruiter Hays London City, said: ‘It’s no surprise to see that hybrid working is more in practice across London, as firms can’t afford not to offer some form of flexibility in a competitive hiring market.’
An employee at asset manager Insight Investment said staff were only going back to the office one day a week. He said such practices were the norm in the City. MPs and business leaders have raised concerns about long-term productivity as employees lose out on face-to-face discussions.
A third of office staff have not returned to the workplace since the start of the pandemic, with many employers not sure if they can actually make them return. Pictured: Commuters walk across London Bridge on Monday
Across the country, a third of office staff have not returned to the workplace since the start of the pandemic, with many employers not sure if they can actually make them return.
New research has found employers are being met with ‘resistance’ from staff over coming back into the office, and are uncertain whether they can ‘legally mandate’ the end of work from home.
In January, Boris Johnson ended guidance to work from home where possible in England as the government scrapped the remaining Covid restrictions.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been moving slower towards dropping the same rules.
But in research for insurance brokerage Gallagher, a third of employees who previously worked in offices said they had not returned in almost two years following the March 2020 lockdown.
A quarter of business leaders said their employees’ contracts do not stipulate that they need to work from a specific location, the study suggests.
Bosses voiced concern about the risk of litigation, driven by changing working patterns, as staff are asked to return to the workplace, said a report.
The research found that most businesses are suggesting workers should be in the office full-time now or in the near future, or a minimum of part-time, as they implement a hybrid model.
But a third of the 1,000 business leaders surveyed said they are meeting resistance from their employees towards returning to the workplace even part-time.
Neil Hodgson, of insurance brokerage Gallagher, said: ‘Many businesses remain uncertain just how far they can legally mandate the return to workplaces, leading to concerns about litigation and complaints’
Bosses and workers now need to navigate a knot of confusing laws and guidance to ensure they avoid legal jeopardy
Neil Hodgson, of Gallagher, said: ‘The return to workplaces is a complicated task for senior leaders at UK businesses.
‘Keeping everyone happy can be challenging and, while some employees feel that they have no need to be in the office, there is an awareness that leadership needs to implement policies consistently.
‘But many businesses remain uncertain just how far they can legally mandate the return to workplaces, leading to concerns about litigation and complaints.’
A third of 1,000 office employees surveyed for the report said they have not been in the workplace since March 2020.
A third of 1,000 office employees surveyed for the report said they have not been in the workplace since March 2020. Pictured: Commuters at London Bridge station on Monday
However, an employment tribunal ruling in December said that staff cannot use a fear of catching Covid as a reason not to go back to the office – because worries of getting infected are not a legally protected philosophical belief.
A complaint of unlawful discrimination due to this fear was brought against an unnamed employer at a tribunal in Manchester.
But Judge Mark Leach ruled that health and safety concerns do not qualify under equality legislation as a belief, meaning the employer could withhold their pay.
While the judgment does not set a wider legal precedent, it will give employers confidence if they are considering deducting pay or sacking staff who refuse to return to the office when the current work from home advice is relaxed.
An anonymous woman brought the alleged unlawful discrimination claim against her employer after she decided not to return to work on health and safety grounds in July last year.
A stay-at-home order was first introduced in March last year and many switched to working from their houses unless it was impossible to do so.
After the first lockdown was lifted, many employers encouraged staff back to the office in the summer.
In a statement to the tribunal, the woman said she had ‘reasonable and justifiable health and safety concerns about the workplace surrounding Covid-19’ and the risk posed to her was ‘serious and imminent’.
The woman said she had a ‘genuine fear’ of falling ill from the virus – and particularly of passing it on to her partner who she said was ‘at high risk of getting seriously unwell’.