RBS Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC

By Paul Clarke

Of Financial News

Nearly 80% of employees at Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC will continue to work from home until next year, as large banks remain reluctant to pull too many staff back to the office even as U.K. coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

The U.K. lender, which has around 63,500 employees, told staff Monday that they would continue to work from home until 2021.

The move will affect around 49,000 people in the U.K. and over 50,000 globally, according to a person familiar with the matter.

"In May we shared that the vast majority of colleagues working from home would continue to do so until at least the end of September. Today we're confirming that this will remain the case into 2021," said an RBS spokesman.

Around 400 of the bank's staff have been going into the office throughout the pandemic, including some traders within its NatWest Markets business, according to a person familiar with the matter. RBS's investment bank--a sprawling global powerhouse before the 2008 crisis--now largely focuses on trading foreign-exchange and interest-rates products.

Around 10,000 RBS employees have also worked in branches since the U.K. went into lockdown on March 23.

While few large banks have put a timeframe on wholesale returns to the office, most have been cautious in the U.K., where government guidance on social distancing and working from home has been loosened in recent weeks.

Around 15% of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. employees are now back in the office, as well as 25% of its sales and trading operation in the country.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has around 20% of its 6,000 London-based staff in the office since reopening in July but will cap the overall proportion of employees at 50% within all its global offices for the foreseeable future.

Last week during its second-quarter earnings call, Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman said that around 90% of its employees globally were still working from home.

RBS has put in place thermal imaging and temperature checks at building entrances for staff required to come in as well as a limit of two people per elevator. It has also banned hot-desking and requires an empty desk between each person.

"It's a cautious approach but we feel the right one to take currently," the RBS spokesman added. "The situation and local government advice will continue to evolve and there will be differences across our jurisdictions. We're in a fortunate position that so many of our colleagues can work from home and we feel it's the right decision to continue doing so into 2021."

Website: www.fnlondon.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 21, 2020 02:33 ET (06:33 GMT)

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