One of Australia’s biggest banks has reportedly threatened to cut workers’ bonuses if they don’t comply with WFH rules.
Staff at the Commonwealth Bank are expected to be in the office 50 per cent of the time, and those failing to do so will be sent warning letters which can eventuate to a reduced bonus.
The bank told staff in an email that the majority of employees were following the rules, but there were ‘some patterns of attendance that are falling short’.
‘This email is to advise you that you have one or more team members who did not meet their connection expectation at least once between June and September 2024,’ the email read, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Workers who don’t meet WFH rules will initially be sent an email, but if they don’t show up for a second time they’ll receive a formal letter of direction.
Bonuses may be impacted by continuous breaches of the rules along with a formal written warning.
Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano accused the bank of lacking flexibility.
‘Despite lauding itself as the most technologically advanced bank, and spending billions on technology so that customers are increasingly being forced to self service, the bank is demanding staff act as if technology and flexibility doesn’t exist,’ Ms Angrisano told the publication.
Staff at the Commonwealth Bank are expected to be in the office 50 per cent of the time, and those failing to do so will be sent warning letters which can eventuate to a reduced bonus
‘If this email is confirmation that face-to-face engagement is so important to the bank, we look forward to the CBA reopening the bank branches they took from customers.’
Ms Angrisano said CBA staff were not consulted about the ‘threats’, and claimed many bank workers were struggling to pay their rent and didn’t need the added expense of travelling to work.
‘Pushing workers with threats reflects the very worst of big business as a bully and not the national icon the Commonwealth Bank likes to tell communities it still represents,’ she said.
Ms Angrisano said disciplinary action threatened to CBA staff was ‘outrageous’.
A CBA spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: ‘Building and growing strong teams is fundamental to delivering an outstanding service for our customers.
‘In 2023, we set an expectation that our office-based employees attend the office for at least 50% of their work time each month and most of our people are meeting that expectation.
Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano (pictured) accused CBA of bullying staff with WFH threats
‘For the small number of people who for different reasons have difficulty complying with this expectation, we seek to understand their individual situation and to balance their needs with those of the organisation and our customer priorities.’
Staff have been told there is flexibility to work from home for particular reasons.
Daily Mail Australia contacted the Finance Sector Union for comment.
Earlier this year CBA was hit with a $10.3million fine by the Federal Court after ruling thousands of staff had been underpaid.
The move by CBA follows a survey that revealed the majority of Australian CEOs want staff to return to the office full-time by 2027.
The KPMG 2024 CEO Outlook survey found 83 per cent of 1,300 global CEOs predict the work from home era will end within the next three years.
The survey revealed bosses are taking a firmer stance on WFH in 2024, after 64 per cent of chief executives predicted workers would return full-time the previous year.
