Big bank accused of ‘bullying’ its staff after threatening to cut bonuses for those who breach WFH rules
One of Australia’s largest banks has reportedly threatened to cut employee bonuses if they don’t comply with WFH rules.
Commonwealth Bank staff are expected to be in the office 50 per cent of the time. Those who fail to do so will receive warning letters, which may result in a lower bonus.
The bank told staff in an email that the majority of employees were following the rules, but that “some attendance patterns were lacking.”
“This email is to let you know that you have one or more team members who have failed to meet their connection expectations at least once between June and September 2024,” the email read. The Daily Telegraph reported.
Employees who do not follow WFH rules will initially receive an email, but if they fail to show up a second time, they will receive a formal letter with instructions.
Bonuses may be affected by continued violations of the rules, together with a formal written warning.
The national secretary of the Financial Sector Union, Julia Angrisano, accused the bank of a lack of flexibility.
“Despite touting itself as the most technologically advanced bank and spending billions on technology so that customers are increasingly forced to self-serve, the bank requires its staff to act as if technology and flexibility do not exist,” Ms Angrisano told the publication.
Commonwealth Bank staff are expected to be in the office 50 per cent of the time, and those who fail to do so will receive warning letters, which could lead to a reduced bonus.
“If this email is confirmation that face-to-face contact is so important to the bank, we look forward to the CBA reopening the bank branches they have taken from customers.”
Ms Angrisano said CBA employees had not been consulted about the “threats”, claiming many bank employees were struggling to pay their rent and did not need the extra expense of traveling to work.
“Pursuing employees with threats reflects the very worst of big business as a bully and not the national icon that the Commonwealth Bank likes to portray to the communities it still represents,” she said.
Ms Angrisano said the disciplinary action threatened against CBA staff was “outrageous”.
A CBA spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: “Building and growing strong teams is fundamental to delivering excellent service to our customers.
‘In 2023, we have set the expectation that our office employees will spend at least 50% of their working time in the office every month and most of our people meet that expectation.
Financial Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano (pictured) accused the CBA of bullying staff with WFH threats
“For the small number of people who may struggle to meet this expectation for various reasons, we seek to understand their individual situation and balance their needs with those of the organization and our customers’ priorities.”
Staff have been told that it is possible to work from home for certain reasons.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Finance Sector Union for comment.
Earlier this year, CBA was fined $10.3 million by the Federal Court after it found thousands of staff had been underpaid.
CBA’s move follows a survey which found the majority of Australian CEOs want staff to return to the office full-time by 2027.
The KPMG 2024 CEO Outlook survey shows that 83 percent of 1,300 global CEOs predict the era of working from home will end within the next three years.
The survey found bosses will take a firmer stance on WFH in 2024, after 64 percent of top executives predicted employees would return full-time the year before.