An international London law firm has introduced a policy which reduces the pay for those employees who decide to continue to work from home on a full-time and permanent basis by 20%.
Stephenson Harwood, a large law firm which employs 1100 people worldwide, has recently announced that those employees who continue to work from home will be paid 20% less than their colleagues who work on a hybrid basis between home and the office.
The policy does not mean that those working from home are exempt from attending the office, however with the firm requiring that they visit the office once a month (with their travel and accommodation expenses for doing so being covered by the firm). Associates have also been warned that they are unlikely to be promoted to “partner” should they adopt the full-time working from home practice.
Staff at the London firm may already work from home twice a week, so it is not anticipated that many will adopt the 20% pay reduction for a full-time basis.
With the Government also encouraging civil servants to return to the office, it will be interesting to see if any further organisations follow suit in trying to entice employees back into the office.
