HSBC warns of bonus cuts for staff who work from home too much

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HSBC has told staff at its UK retail bank that their bonuses could be cut if they fail to come to the office often enough.

HSBC UK informed staff this week that line managers would start monitoring office attendance more closely, and adherence to its policy would form part of their annual performance review, according to a person familiar with the matter.

If employees failed to meet the bank’s previously announced requirement of spending at least 60 per cent of their time in the office or with customers, they could receive lower bonuses, the person added.

The move makes HSBC UK the latest bank to tighten its approach to homeworking, and comes months after Lloyds Banking Group, Britain’s largest retail lender, adopted a similar policy for its senior executives when awarding bonuses. HSBC UK’s directive will apply to all staff with an office-based contract.

Investment banks have also started to row back on pandemic-era working policies, with JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon delivering a broadside against remote working at a recent company town hall meeting.

Dimon’s JPMorgan, as well as Barclays, have in recent months demanded more regular office attendance, while Citigroup shut the beachside Málaga office that offered junior bankers a better work-life balance.

HSBC UK, which encompasses the lender’s British retail and domestic commercial banking units, would start providing line managers with more data so they could better monitor office attendance under the updated policy, said a person familiar with the matter.

Other large UK-based employers, including Big Four accounting firms PwC and EY, have also introduced closer monitoring of office attendance. PwC UK told its 26,000 staff last year that it would track their office attendance in the same way it does their chargeable hours.

HSBC UK’s requirement for staff to work from the office 60 per cent of the time, or three days a week on average, was introduced 18 months ago. The bank employs 23,000 people across its branches and offices.

The memo sent to staff this week tying office attendance to bonuses was first reported by Bloomberg.

HSBC UK declined to comment.