(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG has agreed new work-from-home rules with labor representatives, implementing a policy change that elicited angry responses from staff earlier this year.
The deal will extend tighter office attendance requirements to Deutsche Bank’s employees in Germany, calling them into the office at least three days a week. However, the agreement, which will apply globally, is also set to insert some flexibility into the previous announcement, for example by introducing a transition period and giving employees an annual choice of working from home for two consecutive weeks, people familiar with the matter said.
Deutsche Bank in February cut the number of days per week that staff can work remotely to two from three as the lender joined Wall Street peers in walking back some of the generous work-from-home policies adopted during the Covid pandemic. The surprise move caused a backlash among German staff, with the head of the labor union DBV, Stephan Szukalski, saying at the time that “there’s enormous resistance” to the change.
“Following constructive discussions with our Germany Works Councils, Deutsche Bank is in the final stages of new works agreements for all employees based in Germany,” a spokesman said by email. “The agreement will align the bank’s guidelines in Germany with global hybrid working guidelines.”
The new policy will allow employees to request ad-hoc remote working days and wider exceptions under special circumstances, the people familiar with the change said. Employees who used to work from home 60% of their time will get an extra 12 days of remote working days next year to help with the transition, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing the private policy.
The agreement was first reported by Handelsblatt.
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