Boris Johnson to tell Brits to work from home in lockdown U-turn September 22, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson will today tell Brits to work from home where possible as the UK slaps down fresh restrictions to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. Just weeks after urging people to head back into the office, the prime minister will make a sharp U-turn and say that people should work from home if they [...]
Businesses voluntarily return £215m in furlough cash September 21, 2020 UK firms have voluntarily returned more than £215m of furlough money to the government either because they did not need it or they took it in error. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) figures released today showed that 80,433 employers have so far returned furlough cash totalling more than £215m handed to them to cover staff [...]
Two-thirds of companies say home working has hit employee motivation September 21, 2020 Two-thirds of UK companies believe the motivation and enthusiasm of employees have suffered as a result of remote working during the Covid-19 crisis, according to a new survey. A survey of more than 1,500 firms occupying offices found office working outranked home working for creativity and innovation, as well as productivity and motivation. Roughly 64 [...]
Next: Working from home means staff miss out on the camaraderie September 17, 2020 Staff working from home miss out on spontaneous conversations and the camaraderie of the office, retailer Next has said. The retailer said the pandemic had been “expensive and miserable” for everyone. But it conceded that there had been some good to come from it, particularly in communications, efficiency and employee job satisfaction. Like other non-essential [...]
Travelling to work hits highest level since Covid began September 17, 2020 The proportion of people travelling to work hit its highest level since the coronavirus lockdown began last week as Britons’ gradual return to offices and workplaces continued. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said 62 per cent of people travelled to work in the week that ended on 13 September. It was the first time [...]
Big businesses have a ‘national duty’ to return to work, says ad boss September 16, 2020 The UK’s large businesses and public sector have a “national duty” to get back to work, the chief executive of ad firm Ocean Outdoor has said. Tim Bleakley told City A.M. that mid-cap firms were leading the charge in getting back to the office, but urged larger companies to follow suit. Management at Ocean Outdoor, [...]
You’re required: Alan Sugar urges public to get back to work September 11, 2020 Business tycoon Lord Alan Sugar today urged Brits to “put on a suit, put on a dress and get back to work” amid rising calls to kickstart the faltering economy. Speaking to LBC radio, Sugar said people’s resilience meant “they get back, they recover, they get over it”. “If you do the right things which [...]
In a remote-working future, young people have so much to lose September 11, 2020 Boris once again rolled up his sleeves for a fight last week as he put pressure on employers to bring their teams back to the office. It won’t be easy – the business world is at loggerheads. JP Morgan and Schroeders, the most corporate of employers, have committed to remote working on a permanent basis [...]
The office is a particularly important place for startups September 11, 2020 Remote working is liberating us from the shackles of outdated, 20th Century habits, goes the prevailing narrative. We are freed from the purgatory of the daily commute and are spared office gossip, time-wasting meetings or pointless rituals. Major corporations seem to have embraced this ethos too. Google has said that most employees can be home-based [...]
City of London Corporation urges firms to return to the office September 10, 2020 The City of London Corporation has called on businesses to start bringing employees back to the Square Mile. Speaking at the Court of Common Council, policy chair Catherine McGuinness said that any return to the office for City workers must be in line with government guidance. “We know that the workforce in the Square Mile [...]