Rishi Sunak: Working from home will not be the new normal post-Covid January 11, 2021 Widespread full-time working from home will not become a permanent fixture of the UK economy and central London is destined to come back to life post-Covid, according to Rishi Sunak. The chancellor told City A.M.’s The City View podcast that he’s “desperate” for “the buzz, the vitality and the creativity” that cities generate and that [...]
Top finance bosses expect home working and taxes to increase following Covid-19 January 8, 2021 Top chief financial officers expect flexible and home working to increase post-pandemic – with a five-fold increase in home working expected by 2025, according to a survey by Deloitte. More than three-quarters (78%) of top CFOs expected Covid-19 restrictions on movement and activity to continue through the first half of 2021, but more than half [...]
City of London to host ‘back to work’ week in bid to revive Square Mile December 14, 2020 The City of London will call on office workers to return to the Square Mile in a “back to work” week in April, in a bid to help resuscitate the bars, restaurants and hospitality venues hammered by empty streets during the pandemic. William Russell, lord mayor of London and a former Merrill Lynch investment banker, [...]
Refusal to return to the office post-coronavirus ‘could be grounds for dismissal’ December 7, 2020 Employees who refuse to return to the office post-coronavirus despite being asked to do so could be in breach of contract and face dismissal. Employers had the right to apply to work flexibly before the pandemic, and will be able to do so post-pandemic, too. However, if an employer refuses that application, and the employee’s [...]
A healthy dose of FOMO can get London’s workers back to the office December 7, 2020 Covid-19 has made central London unrecognisable — the quiet streets and empty offices of today are a far cry from the bustling metropolis it once was. Despite the end of the second national lockdown, there hasn’t been much improvement since the summer. A recent survey from Arup showed that London is still trailing other British [...]
Sadiq Khan launches £1m Resilience Fund for London’s post-pandemic recovery December 4, 2020 The Mayor of London announced the launch of a £1m Resilience Fund, partnering community groups and innovation experts to tackle London’s most pressing challenges. The Resilience Fund will be delivered in partnership with Nesta Challenges, an innovation foundation. Local authorities, public agencies, social enterprise will be asked to identify specific challenges they need solved. Sadiq [...]
Productivity and wellness up among City of London employees working from home November 26, 2020 Financial services employees reported feeling more productive and well while working from home, new research has found. Some seven in 10 financial services employees who usually work in the City of London found home working to be a positive experience throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Research from Deloitte found 38 per cent of employees felt more [...]
COVID-19, the perfect storm for women: Work, trade and immigration November 24, 2020 | City Talk The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been profound. Economies around the world are in a state of extreme distress, and businesses in all sectors and of all sizes, are to reimagine if not transform their traditional work practices. Many are struggling with changing regulations or reduced demand, whereas others are wrestling with remote-work and [...]
City of London calls for return to office plan November 24, 2020 The City of London Corporation has called for the government to set out a back-to-work plan to allow staff to get back to their offices as soon as possible. Responding to today’s new guidelines for the winter period, the Square Mile’s governing body said it was vital that businesses were given a “clear plan” in [...]
Vaccine could accelerate the return to the office, survey finds November 17, 2020 News that a vaccine could be rolled out as early as next month has been hailed as transformative and could see a return to the offices sooner than most think. A survey of 700 UK employees by Publicis Sapient show 47 per cent of employees would feel more comfortable to get back to the office [...]