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* Banks draw up plans for staff to return to offices
* Access, seating, catering all face changes
* Many staff to continue working from home
By Scott Murdoch, Maya Nikolaeva and Matt Scuffham
HONG KONG/PARIS/LONDON April 29 (Reuters) - Face masks,
temperature checks and packaged sandwiches could all become part
of the daily routine for bankers as their employers work out how
to get them safely back into the office.
While a growing number of countries are starting to ease
lockdowns to contain the coronavirus pandemic, the threat of a
new wave of infections remains high.
That means banks are having to look at new ways of
organising buildings that before the crisis would have had
packed elevators, crowded cafeterias and desks less than two
metres apart. Given the risks, many staff will still have to
work from home.
"We're going to do it in a way where employees feel
comfortable coming back in," said Mark Fedorcik, head of
Deutsche Bank's investment bank, where around 84% of
staff are currently working from home.
Financial centres in Asia will be the first to see a
significant return of staff to the office.
Goldman Sachs had about 25% of its Hong Kong
employees back in the office this week and has a target of 35%
by May 11 and 50% by May 25, according to a source with direct
knowledge of the plans. Like other major office buildings in the
city, temperature checks will remain at the entrances.
At UBS, the key pad entrances to its three Hong
Kong offices have been removed to avoid having people constantly
touch them, and access will now be through swipe card systems.
In most of its divisions, the bank is preparing to put staff
in teams that will alternate between working at home and coming
into the office, where it will be mandatory to wear face masks.
In France, where the lockdown is due to start being
gradually lifted from May 11, the country's third-biggest bank
Societe Generale has begun to discuss with unions how
to protect staff when some of them return to the office.
One union, CGT, has asked for suggestions on its website.
Proposals include asking the bank to provide tongs for picking
up coffee pods, to buy scooters for staff, or to subside the
cost of travelling to work in a way that avoids public
transport.
Societe General declined to comment on the proposals.
A source at an American bank in Paris said it was preparing
to carry out regular disinfections and to rearrange desks to
make sure staff sit the recommended two metres apart.
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In Germany, Deutsche Bank is in no rush to get staff back in
the office, with strict limitations on gatherings still in place
across the country, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
The cafe at the bank's twin-tower headquarters in central
Frankfurt is expected to continue to operate under reduced
hours, with dining in and self service both banned.
Kitchen staff give employees food on paper plates to be
eaten at their desk or elsewhere. And many of the bank's coffee
machines are out of commission to promote hygiene.
In the United States, JPMorgan told employees last
week it was working on a plan to return staff to offices in
phases, though it has no official timeline for the process.
Discussions include possibly assigning building staff to
press buttons on elevator key pads, and scrapping the buffet
service in cafeterias in favour of selling packaged foods.
Wells Fargo has cautioned employees that working
conditions may not return to normal even as government officials
loosen coronavirus-related restrictions, according to an April
22 memo viewed by Reuters.
"Instead, we will continue with the safety measures we have
put in place at our work locations and we will expect the more
than 180,000 employees who are working from home to continue to
do so," the memo, signed by Chief Operating Officer Scott
Powell, said.
The bank has also launched an on-site nursing service at 56
of its largest U.S. sites to screen for coronavirus symptoms,
such as a high temperature.
As banks develop their plans, employee wellbeing is not the
only criteria. With many leasing real estate in some of the
world's most expensive financial districts, the potential for
longer-term cost cuts will also be in play.
"I think every company, including Deutsche Bank, will assess
whether you need everyone working in the office or if there are
ways to have some people work from home that haven’t been doing
so historically," said Fedorcik.
On Wednesday, Barclays chief executive Jes Staley
said the British bank would not revert fully to its pre-January
working habits. Staff, including investment bankers, could work
from branches as well as other locations rather than all being
packed into their central offices, he said.
"There will be a long-term adjustment in how we think about
our location strategy ... the notion of putting 7,000 people in
a building may be a thing of the past," he said.
(Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva in Paris, Scott Murdoch in Hong
Kong, Tom Sims in Frankfurt, Matt Scuffham in London, Elizabeth
Dilts in New York, Imani Moise in New York and Lawrence White in
London; Writing by Rachel Armstrong; Editing by Mark Potter)
