Business
Summery flexibility instead of mandatory return – Companies deliberately relax rigid attendance rules
Large corporations rely on flexible work models in the summer—despite increasing demands for a return and cultural shifts in law firms.
Despite tightened return-to-office demands from many employers, companies like Pinsent Masons, Covington & Burling, or Jupiter Asset Management increasingly allow their employees to work from home or have reduced working hours in the summer. This is in response to seasonal challenges such as limited childcare, as well as the need for flexibility without a loss in productivity.
Jupiter allows its entire team to work fully from home in August. According to HR Manager Tracey Kinsella, this is a targeted step to provide relief during the school holidays. Covington is also open and allows two weeks of remote work in August, after having increased the attendance requirement to four days a week in May – a concession with double meaning.
In law firms and consulting, this balancing act creates tensions. Professor Laura Empson of the Bayes Business School sees a credibility problem in such summer initiatives: What is sold as appreciation in August may feel like a sanction from September, when flexibility ends abruptly. A consultant from a large consulting firm admitted that they deliberately avoid new summer programs like shortened Fridays - out of concern that they might not be able to retract them later.
PwC has already scaled back its summer offer in the UK: From the original twelve weeks of "Summer Fridays," only six have remained. The rebranding to "Summer Empowerment" instead of "Working Hours" is intended to make it easier for supervisors to demand work performance on Fridays.
KPMG UK takes a different approach and continues to allow employees to finish work at 1 p.m. on one weekday from mid-June to the end of August. Karl Edge, Chief People Officer, sees this as a meaningful flexibility in traditionally quieter months.
Smaller companies are also experimenting: The Hyve Group relies on half-days off, ice cream trucks in the office, and a relaxed atmosphere. Domestic & General offers coding camps for employees' children – a measure directly targeting the shortage in holiday care.
At the same time, there is criticism of the lack of physical presence. Empson advocates using quieter summer months not for remote work but specifically for team building: relationships cannot be maintained in the home office. Those who want cultural cohesion must consciously use physical spaces.
