TSB spat over WFH rules shows struggle to get staff back to the office

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Retail bankingJuly 31
Owner Santander could be hit with legal action after attempts to force three-day-a-week policy on staff
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Santander bought TSB for £2.9bn, creating a combined entity with a total workforce of around 23,000 employees © Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

News that TSB staff could bring employment tribunal claims against Santander, the bank’s new owners, over plans to force employees into the office three days a week highlights the problems lenders face when adjusting work-from-home rules

TBU, the independent union for TSB staff, said “all roads are going to lead back to employment law” after The Banker first reported that the lender will introduce a mandatory three-day office attendance policy from next year. The change comes after Santander completed its takeover of TSB in April

The union said: “When the current attendance policy was introduced, TSB led staff to believe that the changes it initiated — two days a week in the office — would be permanent. Given what they were told, many staff made significant changes to their personal lives and arrangements, only now to be told that following the Santander takeover it will be ‘all change’.”

As a result, representatives of TBU are preparing to take their case to the employment tribunal, a move employment experts say illustrates the difficulties in clamping down on remote working

Daniel Harris, managing director, UK and Ireland at Robert Walters, a headhunter and recruiter that specialises in investment banking, said: “Many professionals no longer view flexible working as a benefit but an expectation. When this is pulled back, it can feel like employers are backpedalling on an essential part of the employment agreement instead of just reducing an additional perk

“That’s why clear communication is critical when it comes to office attendance. If staff feel they are simply being given an order, without much context or clarity on why the change is happening, the backlash can be much stronger.”

Jo Keddie, partner and head of employment and partnerships at law firm Forsters, agrees. She said: “Staff have adapted to and no doubt enjoy the flexibility of the hybrid working arrangements they have been given over recent years. Many employees have built their work and private lives around their existing arrangements, so changing existing policies can be very disruptive. I am not surprised to see pushback.”

Other banks have also faced problems when tightening the screw on working-from-home arrangements. After JPMorgan told its more than 300,000 employees that they had to return to the office full time from March last year, a petition was circulated among staff calling on chief executive Jamie Dimon to reverse the bank’s mandatory five-day return-to-office policy

The petition hit its initial target of 2,000 signatures in October last year and was sent electronically to Dimon

One staff member who signed the JPMorgan petition left the following accompanying comment: “My team is spread out through two continents and three time zones. JPMorgan is a global company — why can’t that include my home office?”

Keddie said in reference to the TSB wrangle: “It will be interesting to see the angle a legal challenge takes. Where employers seek to increase office attendance, the legal risk will often depend on how existing arrangements are documented and applied.”

“Any attempt to impose changes on a one-size-fits-all basis is also likely to trigger Equality Act discrimination challenges where increased office attendance places particular burdens on employees with disabilities, health conditions or caring responsibilities.”

Santander bought TSB for £2.9bn and plans to gradually phase out the acquired brand. The combined banking entity is expected to make Santander UK the sixth-largest bank in the country by assets, with the addition of TSB staff bringing the bank’s total workforce up to around 23,000 employees

A TSB spokesperson said: “As we transition into Santander, we will also align with their colleague policies. We will continue to support all colleagues with any specific needs to ensure they have a comfortable and manageable working arrangement.”

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Source: www.thebanker.com