Origin and Suncorp link bonuses to office attendance
Working from home may continue to be popular with staff but for employees of two big Aussies companies it could also result in a major financial hit.
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In a new blow to Aussies wanting to work from home, two of Australia’s largest businesses have linked office attendance to annual bonus payments.
Employees of Origin Energy and Suncorp Group risk having their bonus payments cut if they don’t comply with their company’s rules around working in the office, The Australian Financial Review has reported.
A spokesperson for Origin, which requires all office-based employees to spend at least 40 per cent of their time in the office, confirmed the move.
The spokesperson described the 40 per cent rule as a “modest” expectation.
“We believe a balance between work and home locations enables connection, collaboration, productivity, and health and wellbeing benefits.”
Suncorp has not introduced a metric on the amount of time it expects employees to work from the office, with staff instead agreeing to individual plans with their manager.
Adherence to the plan is one of the factors in the employee’s scorecard, which feeds into their bonus.
“The intention of including these plans in our scorecards is acknowledging the role our ways of working plays in our culture and to provide clarity, something our people have been asking for through our regular feedback channels,” a Suncorp spokesperson said.
“Where an employee isn’t able to meet the expectations of their team, leaders can work with them to develop alternate flexible work arrangements.”
The move follows a similar trend overseas.
In September, The Times reported that UK-based employees of banker Citi were told their bonuses could be affected if they fail to work from the office at least three days a week.
The latest threat to working from home comes on the back of a survey of senior executives revealed that some businesses are planning to pay WFH employees less than staff who work from the office.
The global Future of Work survey from law firm Herbert Smith Freehills found that 37 per cent of senior executives from large Australian corporations plans to differentiate pay between remote and in-office staff in over the next three to five years.
Originally published as Origin and Suncorp link bonuses to office attendance
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