Lloyds bankers risk bonus cuts over two-day office rule

Lloyds bankers risk bonus cuts over two-day office rule

Senior bankers at Lloyds Banking Group risk having their bonuses cut if they fail to meet new in-office requirements, which require being on site at least two days a week.

The move, revealed ahead of FY2024 bonuses next month, comes as major employers are backing away from remote working arrangements in a bid to encourage more face-to-face collaboration.

Lloyds – owner of Halifax, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland – has confirmed it is reassessing office attendance as part of performance-based bonus measures for senior staff, including those in hybrid positions who last year were ordered to be in the office at 40% of staff. Their working time. This equates to at least two days a week for most full-time employees.

Ged Nicholls, general secretary of the Accord union, which represents Lloyd’s employees, stressed the need to implement the office’s remuneration policy sensitively. “The inclusion of a measure on compliance with the requirement that certain employees attend offices for 40% of their working time should not create problems if it is applied fairly, takes into account individuals’ circumstances and applies mature and reasonable provisions.”

A wide range of companies, especially those headquartered in the United States such as JPMorgan and Amazon, have recently implemented stricter mandates to return to offices. Supermarket chain Asda has introduced a mandatory three-day working week for thousands of workers in Leeds and Leicester, while Santander is finalizing attendance requirements for its 10,000 UK employees.

Some employees are backing down. Several Starling Bank employees resigned after being repeatedly asked to come into the office, and nearly 6,000 people signed a Change.org petition calling on advertising giant WPP to scrap the four-day work rule. WPP says it believes its policy is “suitable for the company’s long-term interests”, admitting it may be unpopular globally.

A Lloyds spokesman noted that the bank is “proud to offer an industry-leading approach to flexible working”, but stressed the importance of ensuring it can deliver on its strategic objectives and client commitments. Lloyd’s also announced a new bonus scheme for 33,000 of its lowest-paid staff, which could result in greater bonuses being offered to the highest performers among them.

Up to 1,000 lower-paid employees – including entry-level workers at 932 branches – could receive additional bonuses on top of the standard group-wide allocation, if managers deem they have “exceeded expectations” or made a “transformational impact” on the business. .

Nicholls welcomed the expansion of performance-based incentives for low-paid workers, but insisted that any higher awards “cannot be achieved by undervaluing everyone else’s standard awards”.

FY2024 bonuses will be distributed shortly after CEO Charlie Nunn unveils annual results on February 20. This new attendance metric is widely expected to have a tangible impact on some employees’ pay, underscoring the ongoing tension between flexible working and company-led demands for more personal collaboration.


Jimmy Young

Jamie is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, with over a decade of experience reporting on UK SME business. Jamie has a degree in Business Administration and regularly participates in industry conferences and workshops. When Jamie is not reporting on the latest business developments, he is passionate about mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of business leaders.

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