Employees at BNP Paribas have been informed that the company is using data from entry-gate swipes and logins to its computer network to track whether they are achieving office attendance targets.
London staff at BNP Paribas, which employs more than 4,500 people in the UK, were told by the bank that the policy would allow it to identify and support workers who were finding it challenging to meet on-site working requirements. It was not a question of trust, bosses said.
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Since 2021, BNP Paribas has been using a “smart working” policy that has allowed staff to log in from home for up to 50% of their working time. It stipulates that employees must come in at least one day a week, with different location requirements attached to different roles.
According to The Times, a memo to staff on Monday said the policy would help it to “more accurately track space needs on a team-by-team basis” and ensure adherence to “working requirements and fairness across teams”. Staff could not opt out of being tracked, the memo stated, adding: “Attending the office is not merely to demonstrate that you’re working particular hours but to facilitate better working relationships and collaboration with colleagues.”
The bank said it would supply staff data on office work to senior managers, who would then decide if action against staff failing to meet targets was necessary.
Employees were told that strikes and bad weather hitting London’s public transport system would not be included as work-from-home days.
A BNP spokesman said: “BNP Paribas UK has been deploying initiatives to support hybrid working and create the most agile working spaces for teams.”
Amazon, Google and Zoom have been among the companies pressing employees to return to the office for more time in recent months. Prior to that banks such as Lloyds Banking Group and Citigroup had been asking for more office attendance. HSBC has announced plans to relocate from Canary Wharf because of the reduced need for office space. Most recently, insurance organisation Lloyds of London sought to persuade workers to come into its City of London building for at least three days a week, and not only from Tuesday to Wednesday.
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