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Returning to the office? What is your company policy

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35B

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I’m afraid I have not had sight of the said advice and it would not be appropriate for me to request it, so I can‘t shed any more light on the matter.
It feels an odd one, as I work for an organisation where I have been to my contractual base location precisely once in the last 17 years. My employer is extremely opposed to permanent home working (basically only allowed for TUPE transfers of people who already have it), and a firm believer that collaboration needs to involve face to face contact.

We are in a slow reversion to limited office working, with an expectation that we will spend 30-70% of our time in office - but recognising that people in different roles will vary. Meeting colleagues yesterday for a team meeting (and very good lunch!), my gut feeling is that I’ll be off the bottom of that scale, and in the office for about 1-2 days per fortnight to coincide with colleagues for team meetings.

We have now been told that, despite being inferred previously, there will be no flexibility regarding the "hybrid" working arrangements. It must be either 3,4 or 5 days a week in the office. They have also said there will be no flexibility in working hours - 9-5. Due to my location I could be eligible to apply for a permanent wfh contract but that would involve a reduction in benefits. What that reduction was and whether I could find out before applying (if I wanted to) my manager didn't know!
This all needs to be done and dusted by 1/8 for everybody to return by1/9. I think we have around 350 staff in our City office.
Edit: 5 day a week office will return for everybody when "things get back to normal".
That says something about that company, not related to Covid, which would have me polishing my cv.
 
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westv

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That says something about that company, not related to Covid, which would have me polishing my cv.
Well I'm 58 now and have always said I won't carry on working in London once I get to 60.
 

James H

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My firm (a big plc) had been intending to move to an interim phase of one day a week in the office (on a per-team basis) from 19 July. This has been delayed until 16 August at the earliest.

From September we are supposed be moving to a 60 / 40 pattern of office / WFH across the month.
Today the one-day-a-week arrangement has been postponed till 6 September.

The 60% minimum time in the office rule is now pencilled in for 1 November.
 

Smidster

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Our 1-2 days per week from September has been delayed indefinitely due to lack of capacity thanks to continued social distancing taking out 50% of desks.

Any change will only come when BEIS change the guidance - to be honest tough to see it being this year (why would Oct be different, and then you don't change something mid-winter just before Christmas.

Can't say I am particularly happy with it.
 

Reliablebeam

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My place is a public sector science outfit. To varying degrees we've been back in operation since last summer. They want us all back on-site, including back office admin type functions by October (I'm not sure if Swindon/London staff are being back in though..). We've had no firm guidance about how this is to be achieved given many of us share 2-3 to an office yet they seem to want to keep lots of rules in place. I get the feeling there is pressure from BEIS level to get everyone back in. I think a lot of regular posters on here know I am far from a covid zealot but a lot of us are a bit concerned this could go pear shaped - a lot of us fear what happens when the schools/nurseries go back. Some of the computational/theoretical people are unimpressed.

I'm in quite a lot so don't care but they can take the masks and - well I'm sure you get the picture...
 

Sm5

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For us (600 people in Farringdon), full time working from home, with meeting rooms available on request and pre-approval to come in.
Fixed Office space is being downsized to facility staff only, plus hot desk / meeting room (i think they said under 50 max can be accomodated).

Plan is for a quarterly gathering, probably at an outside London leisure or hotel venue (think team building etc)…they have asked us for fun suggestions, I already pitched in, suggesting hiring a preserved railway for a few days, with a suitable hotel/conference facility close by.

To be fair ive done similar before, the Joburg office hired the Lion Park in Joburg for a day.. about 300 of us, conference / catering provided onsite. We had meetings looking at giraffes outside the office window, and got pictures with baby lions after lunch…. Did wonders for staff motivation, lots of jokes about being fed to the lions if targets are missed.

With a hugely reduced Zone 1 footprint (in £mns rent annually), they can afford to splash on up scaled staff social gatherings, which do wonders for morale (See above).
 
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87 027

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Still working from home after 72 consecutive weeks. Office is now undertaking an exercise to assess the carbon footprint of returning to pre-pandemic levels of commuting and physical site visits vs. a hybrid model of people continuing to use online collaboration technologies unless there is a specific reason for a face-to-face get-together
 

Lampshade

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Earlier in the year we were told W/C 6th September, thought "I'll believe that when I'm sat at my desk".

Been pushed back to late October earliest :lol:
 

westv

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At a meeting this morning it became apparent that the managers of my team seem to be the only ones of several teams that are still pushing for a return of everybody from 1/9. The others are going for a more relaxed return over the course of the month. :rolleyes:
 
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