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Hundreds of thousands of workers are expected to be back in the office today in a watershed moment for Britain's workplaces.
After 18 months of employees working at home during the pandemic, some of the nation's biggest employers have told staff they are now expected to turn up for work – even if it is just for one day a week.
But there was dismay as civil service chiefs and the Bank of England again delayed plans to force their staff to return to the workplace.
Hundreds of thousands of workers are expected to be back in the office today in a watershed moment for Britain's workplaces
A Daily Mail audit of 18 of the UK's biggest firms, which together employ more than half a million staff, found that half of their office workers are expected to return this week.
Nine of the companies have targeted today, while a further three have demanded a return by the end of September.
Tens of thousands of employees working for Sainsbury's, British Petroleum and a slew of banks and investment houses will return to the office for at least one day from today, while Vodafone and Deloitte will fully open their offices for the first time.
The drive to bring Britain back to the office came amid growing frustration among ministers that the Civil Service has failed to take the lead.
Official 'work from home' Whitehall guidance was removed on July 19 and businesses have been told that the Government 'expects and recommends a gradual return over the summer'.
But insiders said Whitehall had only seen a slight increase in staff back at their
