Since the pandemic forced a wide scale work-from-home experiment, 83% of organisations have adopted a hybrid work model permanently. With this way of working often cited as the most-desired employee benefit and employees now having the legal right to request flexible working from day one of their employment, it is likely that the demand to work on a hybrid basis will only increase further.

However, this remains uncharted territory for some employers. Employees have become more accustomed to this newfound flexibility and organisations are encountering a raft of new challenges as employees test the limits of what is acceptable within a hybrid working framework.  

When expectations around office attendance begin to slip

Almost 6 in 10 employers questioned* agree that their employees push the boundaries of a hybrid working environment, with a catalogue of reasons given for working from home. As a result, employers are finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between general resistance to being in the office and legitimate protected reasons such as disability. Establishing clear policies and guidance around hybrid working therefore has become more crucial than ever before.

This is especially true where sickness is concerned. The most cited reason given by employees for needing to work from home on a scheduled office day was having a minor illness or ailment, with 74% of employers selecting this reason when questioned. The findings further reveal that the overwhelming majority of employers (98%) have had staff say that they are sick and unable to come into the office but are working from home, with almost one quarter (23%) saying that this scenario occurs often.  

Specific training needed for managers of hybrid workers

The research also underscores the need for more support for line managers in managing employees who work from home, so they can have effective conversations and take appropriate, decisive action with their hybrid working team members.

Just five per cent of employers currently offer comprehensive training and support to help managers manage their employees that work on a hybrid basis, with two thirds (66%) offering no specific hybrid working training at all.

Principal Employment Law Adviser and Solicitor Amarjit Rai at WorkNest said: “Whilst the benefits of hybrid working for both employees and indeed, employers are clear, operating such a model brings its challenges that employers can struggle to deal with. This is unsurprising given widespread hybrid working is still a relatively recent trend. 

One major challenge is dealing with reluctant office workers. In many cases, issues stem from a lack of expectation setting. Without clear contracts and policies and managers enforcing them, employees may take it upon themselves to pick and choose when they attend the office, leading to inconsistent attendance and undermining the hybrid work model. Left unchecked, this can cause confusion, reduce accountability, and ultimately impact overall productivity and team cohesion.”

Doing nothing can cause greater issues

Amarjit continues: “Employers operating more casual hybrid working arrangements and a lack of formal written policy can increase the potential for, and make it harder to deal with, situations where employees are not adhering to expectations regarding time in the office. 

To tackle non-attendance, some firms track and monitor employees through a variety of means, and then share this data with group heads and HR  – subject to compliance with data law and other legal principles. However other practical ways to manage staff absence which would better maintain labour relations include setting clear boundaries and empowering managers to effectively communicate these boundaries, 

WorkNest’s team of employment law and HR experts have the following advice for tackling unauthorised at-home days with hybrid workers:

• Set clear guidelines and stick to them

Employers implementing hybrid work models must articulate precise expectations regarding home versus office attendance, ideally from the outset. Have designated office days been clearly communicated? Be specific about how often you expect them to attend the office, for example, ‘at least once a month’. Additionally, have protocols been established for unforeseen absences on these specified days?

• Check the contract

What is the contractual position? For example, if the employee is contracted to work from 9 to 5 – and whether or not it is on a day at home or in the office – have they made arrangements to ensure they can comply with their contractual obligations whilst still being able to, for example, pick their child up from nursery? If not, consideration may need to be given to invoking the flexible working request process, noting that there may be valid business grounds to reject any such request.

• Consider issues on a case-by-case basis

This is particularly relevant when dealing with employees saying they are sick but are planning on working from home. For example, if an employee has broken their ankle and cannot drive but is fully equipped to work from home, it would be reasonable to allow them to do so. However, if an employee has a sniffle or other minor ailment, it would be reasonable to expect them to attend the office; otherwise, this may need to be treated as sickness absence. In a lot of cases, this is likely to mean either unpaid absence or company/statutory sick pay. 

• Offer specific training on managing hybrid workers to help maintain consistency

Whilst dealing with situations on an individual basis is important, if some managers are taking a lax attitude to justifications for not attending on scheduled office days and others are taking a harder line, this will likely bring with it arguments of inconsistency and employee relations concerns, and employers could find themselves having to deal with formal grievances.

This is where specific training can help. Support for managers should include things like familiarisation on the different types of leave available to employees, such as statutory dependents, parental and carers leave to help managers deal with hybrid worker absence consistently and within the boundaries of the law.  They should also be alert to the various protections against discrimination/bias/assumptions etc, and be confident to explore the true facts with employees, so that they can make informed decisions (which are compliant).   In addition, you could consider setting up a forum of some kind where managers can discuss issues with one another to ensure they are on the same page (and on the same page as the company’s hybrid business case).

*Survey by WorkNest