Goldman, Citi, KPMG and PwC lead office return as workers flock back into the City
Canada’s major banks, accountants, law firms, and insurers have called on staff to return offices, after the government scrapped its work-from-home guidance.
Major players including PwC, KPMG, Slaughter and May, and Aviva, told City A.M that they have called on staff to come back in. Major banks and financiers including Goldman, Citi, Standard Chartered and HSBC, have also told their workers to come back in.
The call comes after the government on Wednesday said people will no longer be advised to work from home, and that masks would no longer be mandatory indoors.
Figures show the decision to scrap Plan B restrictions has already seen footfall rise. The number of people coming into central London jumped 5.1 per cent between Wednesday and Thursday after the government ended its work from home call.
Open and available
Brokers at CMC Markets were sent an internal memo at 5.30pm on Wednesday evening, shortly after Johnson announced the end of working from guidance, stating office working would return next week, City PM understands.
Accountancy giant PwC told City PM that staff will be expected to spend 40-60 per cent of their time in the office, while staff KPMG will be expected to come for at least two days a week.
EY said it will be “welcoming more people back into the office,” while Deloitte said its offices in England will now be “fully open and available.”
Insurance titan Aviva said workers will be expected to come into the office for three days a week.
“We strongly believe that Aviva is a better company when we combine the benefits and energy we get from being in the office with the balance we get from working from home,” an Aviva spokesperson told City PM
London’s biggest law firms are also set for a return to the office.
Magic circle law firm Slaughter and May told City PM that staff will be required to spend around 60 per cent of their time in the office from February onwards.
The policy was mirrored by silver circle law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, which also said workers will be expected to spend an average of 60 per cent of their time coming in.
Mishcon de Reya said it will be reverting back to the hybrid working model it first set out last year, which requires staff to come into the office when needed, based on a set of “straightforward principles” that were sent out to staff in the form of a memo seen by City PM