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Employers across the country are preparing to drastically cut wages for home workers Business

Joseph Lappin, head of employment for the law firm Stewarts, said that unless an employment contract permits working from home, an employer can “normally reject applications for full-time work at residence”.

However, a growing number of companies are now considering allowing permanent work from home – on the condition that remote workers receive lower pay. The argument being that those who do not travel to downtown offices incur lower travel and lifestyle costs and could live in cheaper residential areas.

Earlier this year, the city’s top law firm, Stephenson Harwood, told staff he could work from home full-time if he took a 20% pay cut. For the firm’s junior solicitors with a starting salary of £90,000, that equates to a loss of £18,000.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg also told staff at the height of the pandemic that employees working remotely will have their pay adjusted based on where they live. Those in cities with higher living and labor costs would receive more.

Martin Luff, a Vinson & Elkins attorney, said he expected more companies to cut pay for full-time homeworkers after the pandemic, but that failed to materialize as the competition for talent is intensifying.

“When the shutdowns eased and it became clearer that at least some degree of working from home was here to stay, I had anticipated that at least some employers would act quickly enough to differentiate wages and salaries. advantages between office and home workers, but I haven’t seen that happen,” he said.

“I think the main reason is that competition for talent remains intense and employers are concerned about the dynamics of a two-tier workforce and the potential loss of valuable staff.”

Reducing wages for permanent homeworkers is likely to result in a backlash from staff. Stephenson Harwood employees have previously hit back at the company after it exposed its controversial pay cut plans.

Ben Willmott, head of public policy for the CIPD, said employers who are considering cutting wages or benefits should “recognize that there are potential ethical and legal risks in this approach.

“It could also make it harder to recruit or retain staff if people working remotely are less valued and less rewarded than those who have to travel to their organization’s workplace.”

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Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-06-24 05:00:00

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