Nine in ten chief executives regularly work from home despite companies trying to force workers back to their desks, a study has revealed.
Only seven per cent of the bosses surveyed said they worked from a central office all five days of the working week.
A staggering 90 per cent split their time between the head office, ‘flexible’ workplaces and their homes, according to The Times.
Two thirds admitted believing they would lose staff if they forced employees to come into the office every day, and three quarters said embracing hybrid working helped bring in high quality talent.
It comes amid Labour‘s plans for a ‘skivers’ charter’, under which new French-style laws will give employees a string of rights from their first day in the job, including the right to work from home, access to sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal.
But Sir Keir Starmer has been warned the radical overhaul of employment rights featured in his first legislative package risks mass job losses and firms going bust.
Sir Keir Starmer has been warned the radical overhaul of employment rights – including greater flexibility – risks mass job losses
Flexible working practices, such as ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts, will be banned and employers will be forced to pay a higher minimum wage to younger workers (stock photo)
Under controversial ‘French style’ reforms led by deputy PM Angela Rayner, staff would get a ‘right to switch off’ and ignore attempts by their bosses to contact them out of hours
A survey of more than 500 bosses found that the chief executives are more likely to be in the office than not, with only two per cent spending most of their week at home.
The main attraction of WFH was cited as avoiding a long commute, and bosses said offering more flexibility to their staff meant they could consider a more diverse range of applicants.
However, despite the poll results, some businesses are trying to force workers back to their desks with school-like policies such as monitoring attendances and swipe-card data.
One example of these demands is Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire co-owner of Manchester United, ordering the club’s staff to return to the office full-time or to find another job.
Politicians have also tried to convince civil service to come back to the office.
The Prime Minister vowed to replace ‘snake oil populism’ with ‘determined, patient work and serious solutions’. He said the new Employment Rights Bill would ‘level up workers’ rights, so every person has security, respect and dignity at work’.
But Rishi Sunak urged the new government not to impose ‘new burdens on businesses’ which could have ‘unintended consequences’.
‘They could lead to firms being less likely to invest and less likely to hire,’ he said.
Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of S4 Capital, said: ‘The devil will be in the details, but it will make employers more hesitant to hire.’ Pimlico Plumbers founder Charlie Mullins said Sir Keir had ‘opened the floodgates for disaster’.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire co-owner of Manchester United, ordered the club’s staff to return to the office full-time or to find another job
Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak on their way to hear the speech in the House of Lords chamber
But Unite union boss Sharon Graham welcomed the package, saying it was ‘key to rebalancing the relationship between employers and workers, making work fairer’.
It comes as MailOnline revealed some of the most ridiculous excuses used by some workers to WFH.
These included not wanting to go out in the rain, having to look after a relative’s pet, and not being able to find house keys.
Shadow business secretary Kevin Hollinrake told MailOnline the proposals would mean ‘business closures and job losses’.
‘Making flexible working the default and requiring employers to accommodate it is a ”work from home” charter but also, and very significantly, it switches the decision on how and where people work from the employer to the worker,’ he said.
‘More red tape from a classic socialist, big state government, which will stifle economic growth and lead to business closures and job losses.’
Former Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘The UK has had a productivity problem for 30 years made worse by the move to working from home.
‘Employers will not risk creating new jobs if Labour creates an idlers’ charter which will reduce opportunities for all workers.’
Labour’s ‘New Deal for Workers’ was being headed up by Ms Rayner in opposition, but has seemingly now been given to Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
The Government said the measures represent the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, stressing that ministers will work with unions and business to finalise details.
Flexible working is being made the ‘default’, although there is a caveat that this is only ‘as far as is reasonable’.
The Tory government’s reforms of union powers, including minimum service levels in areas like rail, will be abolished.
The process of getting recognition for unions in workplaces will also be ‘simplified’, although there are few details.
Last year, Jeremy Hunt warned that working from home can hit ‘creativity’ as he insisted going into the office should be the ‘default’ option.
The former Chancellor acknowledged video conferencing and other remote tools offer some ‘exciting opportunities’ including being able to ‘stay in touch’ with work while looking after a baby.
The Government figures on staff attendance at departmental HQs reveals that the average office is 61 per cent full
Jeremy Hunt warned that working from home can hit ‘creativity’ as he insisted going into the office should be the ‘default’ option
But he said he ‘worried’ that firms were losing out through staff not being able to ‘bounce ideas off each other’ – suggesting people should be in the office unless there was a ‘good reason’.
Asked about home working at the BCC conference in London, Mr Hunt said: ‘I think it’s something for businesses to find their own way through.
‘There are some very exciting opportunities created by the fact that we’ve all learned to use Zoom and Teams for meetings.’
He suggested that it could help new mothers stay in touch with the workplace and provide ‘choices’ for workers with mobility issues.
‘One example is childcare. It’s not now the case that someone who has a baby needs to be completely out of contact for years and years,’ he said.
When interviewer joked that people being interrupted by children was ‘the joy of the Zoom call’, he said: ‘We all accept that and it’s absolutely fine.’
Aides insisted Mr Hunt had not been endorsing mothers working from home with babies.
But he added: ‘On the other hand, there is nothing like sitting around the table, seeing people face-to-face, developing team spirit – and I worry about the loss of creativity when people are permanently working from home and not having those water cooler moments where they bounce ideas off each other.
‘Not every great business idea happens in a structured, formal meeting.’
Mr Hunt said businesses were now calling for staff to come in. ‘I think the default will be ‘you work in the office unless there’s a good reason not to be in the office’ and gradually we are getting there,’ he said.