PwC to track workers’ locations as it orders more time be spent in office

Consultancy firm PwC is to begin tracking the working locations of all its employees to ensure they spend the required amount of time in the office or at client sites, an internal memo has revealed.

Sent to all 26,000 of its UK employees, PwC bosses say they will start monitoring how often employees work from home in a drive to encourage more on-site working.

Writing to staff, PwC UK partner Laura Hinton said: “We will start sharing your individual working location data with you on a monthly basis from January as we do with other data such as chargeable hours.

“This will help to ensure that the new policy is being fairly and consistently applied across our business.”

Ms Hinton acknowledges the “positive impact” of hybrid working, but says the rules have been changed from previous guidance of two to three days on-site working a week, as that was “open to interpretation.”

Many office-based employees in the UK have moved to a hybrid model since being forced to work from home during the covid pandemic. This is where they will spend some time working from the office, and the rest working from their homes.

In 2019, prior to the pandemic, just 12 percent of UK employees said they adopted a hybrid model of work. This figure is now double, at 24 percent, according to ONS statistics. This number has reached as high as 31 percent, peaking in November 2023.

Statistics also show that workers are generally in favour of hybrid working where it is possible, with a survey of over 2,000 global workers in September 2023 by research firm Leesman showing that 94% reported liking hybrid working.

Some companies have begun to push back on the practice, however, citing decreased productivity and morale. Responding to reports on PwC’s new policy, Ms Hinton said: “Face-to-face working is hugely important to a people business like ours, and the new policy tips the balance of our working week into being located alongside clients and colleagues.

“This feels right for our business and right for our people, given our focus on client service, coaching, and learning and development. At the same time, we continue to offer flexibility through hybrid working.”

PwC is also not the only company to clamp down on hybrid working by its employees. Earlier in the year, rival Big Four firm EY began reviewing swipe-card entry data of its staff to track how often they were visiting the office.

The moves come as the new Labour government has been outspoken about its plans to improve workers’ rights, with legislation soon expected to pass as part of their ‘New Deal for Working People.’

Spearheaded by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, measures including a ‘right to switch off’ and the right to request a four-day week of compressed hours are reported to be under consideration.