With news that one of the world’s biggest companies, Amazon, has announced an end to hybrid working, will employers across the UK be following suit?
The option to work from home became the norm following the outbreak of Covid-19, with many businesses adapting their practices to cater for more staff remote working. But what can those looking to have more people in the office do? Laura Shermon, Solicitor in the Thrings Employment team, looks at what you need to know:
Can staff be told to return to the office?
The ability for an employer to recall their staff to the office depends on a number of factors, most importantly, on what their contracts have said. Does the contract explicitly state the role is office based? If so, you may be able to rely on these contractual terms but there are still other factors to consider.
With the first lockdown having started more than four years ago, many businesses will have staff that have been working from home for quite some time, potentially even their entire contracts. If this has been the case, even if stated otherwise in their contract, these arrangements may now be regarded as implied terms within the employment contract through custom and practice.
If you cannot rely on any contractual terms to require employees to return to the office, then you will find yourself in the position of needing to consult with the employees with a view to seek their express approval to the proposed change to their contracts. This should be handled with care in order to maintain working relationships with the affected employees.
Employers can sometimes justify unilaterally changing employees’ contractual terms by ending their contracts and re-hiring them on new terms and conditions, known as “fire and rehire”.
Historically, this route has been known to be problematic for employers if there is resistance to the forced changes, with the potential for employment claims against the business, adverse effects on working relationships with staff and reputational damage. Due to these risks this approach should only be considered as an absolute last resort.
Statutory guidance on “fire and re-hire” practices was introduced this year that employers should bear in mind if this is a step they are considering, however we would always advise seeking legal advice ahead of pursuing this course of action.
Practical considerations
If an employer is able to bring in a change to require staff to return to the office they may, as a result of this change, receive an influx of flexible working requests.
As of April this year, it is now a day-one right for employees to submit up to two flexible working requests in any 12 month rolling period. Any attempt to reject such requests need to be accompanied by sufficient reasoning, namely one of the eight reasons set out in statute.
Retention and recruitment are also important aspects to consider. In a candidate’s market, the opportunity for flexible working is a common requirement for individuals seeking work and not offering this could deter prospective applicants. If you aren’t offering flexible working, it is highly likely that a competitor will be.
How could things be changing?
Reforms to employment law are expected from the government in the coming months, reflecting the substantial number of employment-related pledges in Labour’s general election manifesto and the pro-remote working tone within.
Labour’s manifesto recognised the need for people to fit some work around family conditions, with people being “increasingly likely to work flexible hours or occasionally work from home” and that this needed to be done “sensibly”. Time will tell for what this means in terms of prospective legislation.
Thrings’ Employment lawyers are experienced in dealing with business matters that affect the workforce, including workplace bullying, and has acted for both employers and employees from start-ups and SMEs all the way to multinational corporations across a wide range of employment matters. To find out how they can help strengthen your polices, and solve your disputes, please get in contact.
