Banks tell staff: stay home if possible

ANZ has asked all non-essential workers in Sydney to work from home as the banks actively monitor their return-to-work schedules this year.

ANZ has asked all non-essential workers in Sydney to work from home until at least January 11. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

ANZ has asked all non-essential workers in Sydney to work from home until at least January 11, as the banks actively monitor their return-to-work schedules this year following the COVID-19 outbreak in NSW.

In a note to staff, ANZ deputy chief executive Alexis George said only those who “absolutely need” to work from an ANZ workplace to help the bank function should be coming into its Sydney offices before January 11.

She said “we remain on heightened alert in Sydney”, and the bank would continue to watch the situation and follow government advice. “We look forward to getting back to something akin to COVID-normal in 2021,” she said.

Westpac has also asked head office staff to work from home “unless absolutely necessary”.

The bank, which will make further decisions in January about returning to the office, has also required all customer-facing staff in the Greater Sydney region to wear a mask, and adopted the four square metre rule.

The Commonwealth Bank said it had not changed its position on staff coming into the bank’s corporate workplaces within Greater Sydney.

“As we have done throughout the year, we continue to actively monitor the situation and adhere to the guidance from the NSW government, to ensure the safety of our people and customers remains paramount,” a spokeswoman said.

“Given the time of year, the majority of staff are on annual leave, with many returning to work in early January. We will review the situation at that time and advise our staff of any changes accordingly.”

While most CBA commercial office staff have been working remotely during the pandemic, the bank has kept its major Sydney commercial offices open should staff wish to work from them. Occupancy levels have ranged from less than 20 per cent to a peak of 35 per cent before Christmas, which is well below the bank’s COVID-safe capacity.

The National Australia Bank, which allowed 85 per cent of its 34,000 employees to work from home, said it was gradually reopening its commercial buildings in line with advice from government and health authorities.

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said the experience of the pandemic “tells us that the blue collar workforce keeps turning up to work every day, and the white collar workforce is split about one-third at work, one-third at home, and one-third in a hybrid arrangement”.

“Businesses expect that trend to continue although there will be more pressure throughout 2021 for people to come back to the office. Not necessarily full-time but at least part of the time,” he said.

Mr Willox said from an employers’ perspective, working from home had “not been a net negative”.

“There have been some good things. It has shown business can function under a different operating model,” he said. (Management) suspicion about working from home may not evaporated but it’s certainly dissipated.”

He expected hot-desking to continue when employees returned to the office but said it would be in a more structured way that was COVID-safe.

Unions this year will push for white-collar employers to adopt a working-from-home charter that would see companies paying an upfront allowance to employees working remotely to cover work-related expenses.

Employers would also insure equipment used by ­employees working from home remotely.