HSBC has told thousands of UK employees that their pay could be cut if they fail to meet new in-office attendance requirements, as the bank steps up efforts to tighten its hybrid working policy.
In a memo sent to employees in its UK high street and commercial banking division, which employs around 24,000 people, the FTSE 100 bank said that “consistently not meeting 60 per cent office attendance will be considered in an individual’s overall performance assessment… which could lead to variable pay being impacted.”
From September, line managers will begin receiving monthly attendance reports highlighting staff who are not coming into the office at least three days a week, the bank confirmed.
The stricter monitoring comes more than a year after HSBC first told staff they were expected to spend 60 per cent of their time in the office or with clients, equating to roughly three days a week under its hybrid policy.
The move sees HSBC join a growing number of global corporations pushing back against remote work. JP Morgan Chase recently mandated a five-day office return for all staff, and Amazon scrapped its hybrid arrangements at the start of the year.
While hybrid working remains widespread across many sectors, some senior executives have voiced concerns that remote work can hinder collaboration, innovation and employee development—particularly for younger or junior staff.
The tension between flexibility and productivity was brought into sharp relief earlier this year when JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon was caught on a leaked recording lambasting remote work during an employee town hall. In the clip, Dimon criticised the lack of office attendance, remarking: “I come in, and where is everybody else?”
HSBC’s warning stops short of mandating full-time office work, but by linking attendance to performance assessments and variable pay, it sends a clear signal that the era of unchecked flexibility is fading.
While some employees may push back against the policy shift, HSBC’s leadership appears determined to draw a firmer line — reflecting a broader recalibration of post-pandemic working norms as companies seek to reinforce culture, collaboration and accountability.
