Starling Bank staff have resigned following demands from the company’s chief executive that they spend more time in the office.
Hybrid workers, who usually attend the office on an ad-hoc basis or once or twice a week, must now do so for at least 10 days per month under a new policy introduced by Raman Bhatia, who took over the business in March.
But employees have complained that the move isn’t practical, citing limited desk and parking spaces, and are also unhappy about the effect it will have on their work-life balance, according to reports from the Guardian.
The British online-only bank, which has 3,231 employees who are mostly in the UK, only has a total of 900 desks. This includes 320 in its London headquarters, 260 in Cardiff, 155 in its Southampton site and 160 in its newest office in Manchester.
In an email sent by the bank’s HR team and seen by the Guardian, it admitted the move may not be practical.
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“We are aware that in some office locations we may not be able to accommodate 10 office working days per month for everyone right now. We are considering ways in which we can create more space,” it read.
The bank’s return to the office mandate follows that of an increasing number of employers which are trying to get staff back in workplaces more often after the pandemic led to a surge in home working.
In 2023, Goldman Sachs was one of the first big businesses to order staff back to the office five days a week, while Amazon is demanding the same from January 2025.
A Starling Bank spokesperson said: “Starling recently formalised a long-standing practice in which colleagues were encouraged to work in their local office for two to three days a week. By bringing colleagues together in person, our aim is to achieve greater collaboration that will benefit our customers as we enter Starling’s next phase of growth.”
The spokesperson added that the move will mean people managers can provide extra support to colleagues with wellbeing and other personal needs, while those with fully remote or flexible arrangements in place already remain on those terms.
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