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Two thirds of employers considering pay cuts for staff who choose to work from home

More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of British businesses are contemplating pay cuts for staff who opt to work from home, suggests a new survey by HR software provider CIPHR. This is despite the fact that over half (53 per cent) admit they’ve actually saved money by having more remote workers.

The majority – a significant 97 per cent – say their employees will be allowed to continue working from home at least some of the time. However, that does come at a potential cost.

While two-thirds (68 per cent) of employers have given all or most of their staff the option to work remotely (29 per cent and 39 per cent respectively), the same number (68 per cent) are thinking about reducing the pay of employees that wish to work from home permanently.

People wishing to be fully remote are more likely to face a pay reduction than their hybrid working colleagues, with two-fifths of employers singling them out for cuts (39 per cent compared to 29 per cent).

Smaller organisations (those with 26 to 50 employees) are among the most likely to let all their staff have the option to work remotely (39 per cent), compared to only a quarter (23 per cent) of their larger counterparts with over 250 employees.

When it comes to location allowances (such as London weighting and other geographical premiums) it’s even worse news for employees. According to the results, 86 per cent of employers have already suspended, reduced, or removed these payments during the pandemic because of home working. Most (49 per cent) have only temporarily reduced them, and a quarter (23 per cent) have temporarily stopped them. But 14 per cent have made permanent changes.

For the 14 per cent of organisations that haven’t made any adjustments to their location allowances yet, 29 per cent are reportedly considering doing so.

CIPHR polled 150 business owners, CEOs, and senior managers to find out more about employers’ attitudes towards staff working from home. All survey respondents work for organisations that pay location allowances and have some staff working from home due to the pandemic.

For a full breakdown of the data click here:

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