Bosses made to justify why staff shouldn’t work from home Politics Bosses will have to host a meeting with staff who ask for flexible working and lay out their rationale for refusing, under a new policy outlined by Louise Haigh. The cabinet office minister told a union gathering that business leaders would have to “properly consider” flexibility requests from staff and grant an in-person meeting to [...]
Gareth Southgate hits out at WFH and warns high taxes are harming youth unemployment Economics Former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate has said he is against working from home and argued that young people need workplace mentors to develop their careers. On a trip with the Neets tsar Alan Milburn, Southgate hit out at companies’ working from home policies and linked it to the joblessness crisis facing under 25-year-olds. “What [...]
Lloyd’s of London allows staff to work from home as heatwave hits the capital Business Lloyd’s of London is allowing its staff to stay away from the historic City building as yet another heatwave threatens to hit London. The home of the world’s leading specialist insurance and reinsurance marketplace has told staff they are able to use their judgement and work from home this week with temperatures in the Square [...]
City firms send workers home as heatwave melts London June 24, 2026 City firms have told their workers to stay away from the office this week as London is hit with a record June heatwave. Several multinational companies headquartered in the Square Mile have advised their employees to consider remote work in a bid to dodge the sweltering heat. Banking giant JP Morgan Chase is the biggest [...]
Labour warned not to kill off hybrid jobs millions rely on June 7, 2026 Labour has been warned not to “regulate flexible jobs out of existence” after new polling found two-thirds of part-time workers chose their role specifically because it offered flexibility around childcare or studying. The intervention from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) comes as ministers press ahead with plans to overhaul zero-hours contracts and force employers to [...]
Hybrid working overtakes pay in race for UK tech talent April 14, 2026 Hybrid working has overtaken salary as the main way UK firms are competing for tech talent, according to new research seen by City AM, as skills shortages intensify across the sector. Data from International Workplace Group found 37 per cent of businesses now cite hybrid working as their primary strategy to attract talent, ahead of [...]
Nigel Farage’s war on working from home is vibes-based politics February 16, 2026 Nigel Farage's attack on working from home is designed to increase headlines, not productivity, writes Eliot Wilson.
Branson-backed Virgin Active slashes losses amid WFH battle October 7, 2025 Virgin Active, the gym chain founded by Sir Richard Branson, has significantly slashed its losses as its battle with the work-from-home trend continues. The business, which runs 224 international locations, has reported a pre-ax loss of £78.1m for 2024, down significantly from the £146.7m it lost in 2023. New accounts filed with Companies House also [...]
Asda-owned Leon cuts hundreds of jobs as work from home trend bites September 17, 2025 Leon has axed hundreds of jobs as it bemoaned a “challenging” year in which it wrestled with high cost inflation and depressed customer spending. The Asda-owned fast-food chain cut its headcount by 17 per cent, or 224, to 1,120 over the course of 2024, its latest accounts show, as it sought to bear down on [...]
UK’s largest chamber of commerce on brink of collapse August 7, 2025 The largest accredited chamber of commerce in the UK is on the brink of collapse after filing a notice of intent to appoint administrators. Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, which has around 4,000 members, has cited the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath for creating “sustained financial pressures” as one of the reasons behind its current [...]