A new survey by HR software provider, CIPHR, reveals that over two-thirds (68%) of British businesses are contemplating pay cuts for staff who opt to work from home, despite many (53%) saying they’ve actually saved money by having more remote workers.
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.
The majority – a significant 97% – 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.
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% compared to 29%).
Smaller organisations are among the most likely to let all their staff have the option to work remotely (39%), compared to only a quarter (23%) 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% of employers have already suspended, reduced or removed these payments during the pandemic because of home working.
For the 14% of organisations that haven’t made any adjustments to their location allowances yet, 29% are reportedly considering doing so.