Deloitte tells staff they can work from home forever
Staff working at Deloitte will be able to work wherever they want when Covid restrictions are eased and work from home guidance is scrapped.
Staff at the Big Four firm will not be obligated to work from the office for a minimum number of days per week, as has been a typical response of Deloitte’s competitors.
Some 15,000 Deloitte staff responded to an internal survey about the future of work at the Big Four firm, with more than 80 per cent of those saying they expected to work from a Deloitte office for two days or fewer per week.
More than 90 per cent of Deloitte’s workforce said ‘choice’ and ‘flexibility’ should be at the heart of how the business operates in future.
Deloitte senior partner and chief executive Richard Houston said: “The impact of the pandemic has profoundly changed our way of life, not least in the way we work. The last year has really shown that one size does not fit all when it comes to balancing work and personal lives.
“It has also shown that we can trust our people to make the right choice in when, how and where they work.”
He continued: “Once the Government has lifted all of the Covid-19 restrictions and we’re back up to full office capacity, we will let our people choose where they need to be to do their best work, in balance with their professional and personal responsibilities.”
Deloitte said when restrictions are eased its offices will principally be used for team collaboration, training and client meetings.
Many City companies have announced plans to adopt a hybrid structure post-pandemic, with staff asked to spend some time in the office each week.
Competitors KPMG and EY have said staff will spend on average two days in the office each week, while rival PwC estimated staff will be in the office between two and three days.
The government is currently consulting on plans that could prevent employers from forcing staff to come into the office unless they can prove it is essential.
A Whitehall source told The Mail: “We are looking at introducing a default right to flexible working. That would cover things like reasonable requests by parents to start late so they can drop their kids at childcare.
“But in the case of office workers in particular it would also cover working from home – that would be the default right unless the employer could show good reason why someone should not.”
The government has shot down the reports, with the Prime Minister understood to be against large-scale working from home beyond final lockdown restrictions.