Paying the price for flexible working
Released On 9th May 2022
I think it's fair to say that the way we all work has changed a fair bit over the past few years (perhaps the biggest understatement of the century)! Overnight in 2020, we were thrown into working from home, got to grips with Teams and Zoom, spent our lives inadvertently on mute, went paperless, ditched work socials and so on.
If I had a pound for every time someone told me pre-Covid that flexible working wasn't possible, I'd be on a sunbed in the Bahamas sipping cocktails with a pretty little umbrella in them, rather than sat here spouting at you about employment law on a Friday morning. Sadly, for me (and for you), here I am!
We have talked repeatedly about returning to 'normal' but like most of us, I'm not really sure such a thing exists anymore. We've advised lots of you on flexible working arrangements post-lockdown and the consensus seems to be that most employers, where they can, have adopted some form of hybrid working with open arms. It gives employees the flexibility to 'get the job done' whilst meeting their personal needs and we're all for it, if it's properly managed.
So, we are more than a little bemused this week to see a law firm in the Big Smoke suggesting to its staff that they can continue to work from home permanently - but only on the basis that they accept a 20% pay cut! Oh, and you can’t expect to be promoted if you take it up.
Now, I’m not going to pretend I know the ins and outs of it, but the headline is grabbing. Are they really suggesting that someone who works from home is worth 20% less than someone who comes into the office and isn’t worthy of climbing the ladder?! If so, the implications are dangerous and far-reaching.
Take for example the disabled employee who cannot easily commute into central London or for whom the office environment causes difficulties. Disability discrimination? What about women, who typically have more caring responsibilities than men and cannot afford the commuting time to come into the office. Indirect sex discrimination? Equal pay issues?
Beyond the basic issue of totally undermining trust and confidence in suggesting that your worth is dictated by office attendance, what about the impact on the mental health and well-being of your staff? We’ve all got bills to pay (and arguably those household leccy bills will be all the higher if you’re working from home 5 days a week) and mouths to feed.
I get that the employee may be saving on commuting costs but, not only does that depend on where you choose to live, let’s not forget the potential saving for the employer in not running such a big, shiny office with all the costs that entails. Isn’t the employer potentially profiting from this situation in a big, bad way?
Maybe that is the intention but it's an ill-thought out proposal in my mind and gives rise to potential constructive dismissal claims too. Isn’t recruitment and retention difficult enough at the moment – why make life even more complicated for yourself?!
Anyway, flexible working requests and remote/hybrid working issues – we’re here to help. We might be at home, we might be in the office, we might be on that sunbed in the Bahamas (note: we won’t, unfortunately) – give us a call and see if you can guess. Our advice will be the same, wherever we are.
If you require any help or assistance regards this topic or anything else employment law related, please contact our Employment Law Team.
