More than 500 secretaries at Deloitte could lose their job after 20,000 employees were told they can choose whether to work from home, the office or a mix of both from July 19, it was revealed today.
Big businesses appear to be adopting 'hybrid models' for staff and this will speed up the digitisation of staff services meaning that fewer PAs may be needed to handle meetings, diary management and HR matters.
Deloitte, who told its 20,000 UK staff they can work from home if they like, is considering making at least one third of secretarial staff redundant, according to the NHS, and would save then £4million-a-year.
Instead there would be 'pools' of secretaries for staff to use - with only the most senior management retaining personal PAs.
The official guidance telling people to 'work from home if you can' will be scrapped on July 19 in England, it emerged today. But it will be left up to employers and their staff to decide whether they have to go back to their desks.
It comes as a lobby group of 50 business leaders, London First, has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to beg that working from home be 'no longer the default'.
Deloitte, who told its 20,000 UK staff they can work from home if they like, is considering making at least one third of secretarial staff redundant, according to the NHS, and would save then £4million-a-year
Boris Johnson is ready to ditch the 'work from home' guidance – but it will be left to employers and their staff to decide when workers go back to their desks with most big businesses offering workers freedom to choose or a 'hybrid' model
The letter, seen by The Times, read: 'At this critical moment, we believe that it is essential that the government is unambiguous in its communications that when the ''stage four'' restrictions lift, public transport is safe, offices are safe, and work-from-home is no longer the default.
'Employers can then move forward with plans for new ways of working, considering the needs of their staff, clients and customers.'
Signatories of the letter include BT CEO Philip Jansen and the chief executive of Capita Jonathan Lewis.
Markets analyst Fiona Cincotta, who works for City Index, said the big question is whether companies and the Government will put up 'boundaries and borders' about working from home guidance in order to protect the economy.
It comes as a lobby group of 50 business leaders, London First, has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to beg that working from home be 'no longer the default'. Pictured: London
Boris Johnson's 'work from home if you can' rule is set to be formally abandoned as part of the lifting of the remaining lockdown restrictions on July 19. Stock picture
She said: 'The pandemic has changed the way we are working and working from home more is going to have consequences for the way the jobs market is structured, where jobs are and also geographically as well.
'And yes having fewer assistants is more likely because more people are working from home. And I think a lot of companies that aren't going to give workers the complete freedom to choose where they work, there will definitely be a hybrid version. I think it is very unlikely we'll going to see working the full five days back in the office, which does mean that some jobs may no longer be necessary any more'.
She added: 'There will be a knock on effect on coffee shops, city centre businesses. And when people apply for jobs, a consideration will be: 'How much will I be expected
