HSBC has told thousands of UK employees that their salaries could be cut if they cannot meet the attendance requirements of the new office as banks step up efforts to strengthen hybrid work policies.
In a memorandum from the UK High Street and Commercial Banking Department, which employs about 24,000 employees, FTSE 100 Bank said: “In an individual’s overall performance assessment, 60% of office attendance has been consistently not met…this may result in variable salaries being affected.”
Starting in September, line managers will begin receiving reports of monthly attendance, highlighting staff entering the office at least three days a week, the bank confirmed.
For the first time, HSBC told employees that they expect to spend 60% of their time in the office or with their clients, and over a year, this strict monitoring is after more than a year, about three days a week under its mixed policy.
The move has brought HSBC to an increasing number of global companies against remote work. JP Morgan Chase recently offered five-day office returns to all employees, and Amazon canceled its hybrid arrangements early in the year.
While hybrid work remains common in many areas, some senior executives have expressed concern that remote work can hinder collaboration, innovation and employee development, especially for younger or junior employees.
Tensions between flexibility and productivity eased sharply earlier this year when JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was captured by leaked records during employee town hall lambast remote work. In the edit, Dimon criticized the lack of office attendance and said, “I come in, where are the others?”
HSBC’s warning lacks enforced full-time office work, but by linking attendance to performance evaluations and variable compensation, it sends a clear signal that the era of unchecked flexibility is gradually disappearing.
While some employees may object to policy shifts, HSBC leaders seem to have decided to draw stronger boundaries – a broader recalibration of large-scale post-work norms as companies seek to strengthen culture, collaboration and accountability.
