Working from home boosts productivity, Jonathan Reynolds says

Allowing flexible working and working from home creates a more productive, loyal workforce, the business secretary has said.

In an interview with the Times, Jonathan Reynolds said employers “need to judge people on outcomes and not a culture of presenteeism”.

Labour is poised to unveil its Employment Rights Bill, which includes measures such as a right to “disconnect” outside working hours, a ban on zero-hours contracts and allowing workers to compress their contracted hours into fewer working days.

Business groups have raised concerns about the plans, warning it could push up the cost of hiring staff and have the unintended consequence of ending overtime.

However, Reynolds said Labour’s plans to address workers’ rights should not be alarming for business leaders.

Since April, workers have had the right – introduced under the previous government – to ask for flexible working as soon as they start a job, but firms do not have to agree.

Labour had promised to introduce legislation on workers’ rights within 100 days of being elected, although Reynolds said this would not mean immediate changes to the law.

The plans include a right to flexible working by “default” and the repeal of anti-strike legislation brought in under the Conservatives.

Reynolds criticised one of his Tory predecessors, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, who had said he wanted to end the culture of working from home in the civil service but also in wider industry.

“That’s pretty bizarre given the economic position the country was in and the real business agenda that needs to be pursued,” Reynolds said.

The interview coincides with an announcement from Amazon that all staff will be expected to work in the office five days a week from January.

The company said staff could still work from home in unusual circumstances, such as caring for a sick child or a house emergency, but chief executive Andy Jassy said “our expectation is that people will be in the office”.

Earlier this year, Morrisons scrapped four-day working weeks for its head office staff following feedback that in order to make it work, staff had to work some Saturdays.

Asda also shelved a four-day week trial after staff complained that the longer shifts were too demanding.

Prof Efpraxia Zamani, associate professor of information systems at Durham University Business School, said flexible working offered lots of benefits to women but there was a flip side.

“It gives you access to a wider range of possibilities for work. Let’s say you are a woman living in a rural area, it means you can get jobs further away without having to travel.

“The flexibility of working from home means that you can do your job and also take care of other things. For example, unpaid carers, and the vast majority of unpaid carers are women, it means they can work from home, still carry out their caring responsibilities and remain in employment.”

However, she warned: “If a woman is working from home it is sort of expected that they will, alongside their work, be the one doing the housework or caring for children. The working day becomes very fragmented.”

Prof Zamani said research also suggested working from home could have an impact on career progression.

“If the remote worker is not in the awareness of managers, it is easier to bypass them for promotion,” she said.

Reynolds was speaking to the Times from Riyadh, where the UK is attempting to seal a trade agreement.

Speaking of his own experience as a solicitor learning from senior colleagues, he said there were clear benefits to being in the workplace: “I think there are times when it is absolutely necessary, it’s legitimate to need the workforce in the office. You’re basically learning from more experienced colleagues on the job.”

He added: “The UK has very significant regional inequality. It [offering the chance to work from home] could play a significant contribution to tackling that.

“A lot of businesses will say their motivation for being a workplace that offers this is because it opens up a much wider group of talent that they can recruit.

Reynolds emphasised the importance of retaining probationary periods when a new employee starts a job. But he acknowledged that negotiations are continuing on the length of these.

He said it was “not right” that some staff had to wait two years to gain full rights, but declined in the interview to suggest how long the probationary period should be.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner held a meeting with trade union and business representatives last month to discuss the proposals.

Following the meeting, Tina McKenzie, policy chairwoman at the Federation of Small Businesses said it was “crucial” for the government to “try and reduce harm to employment, small businesses and the economy from any and every negative impact of these proposals”.

Jonathan Geldart, director general of the Institute of Directors, said “meaningful dialogue” would be vital in determining whether the proposals would “support or stifle economic growth”.