Legal insight | Will you be forced to keep remote working forever?

2020 was the year that made remote working commonplace. Until last year, flexible working hours and locations were something that the vast majority of companies simply paid lip service to. But the coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we work almost beyond recognition – and at a rapid pace.

At peaks of remote work last year, almost half of the UK workforce was undertaking employment from a non-central location – whether it be laptops perched on kitchen counters or spare bedrooms – and whilst many have struggled with the isolation of this, others actively enjoy the new working arrangements.

Read more from us

Future of work | Salesforce claims '9-to-5 workday is dead'

In fact, as Adam Pavey, Director at Pannone Corporate, a firm who specialise in employment law, described: “The pandemic forced employers to allow their teams to work differently and, therefore, it’s to be expected that precedents will be set and there will be pressure for the standard approach to remote working to change.”

And, working off new precedents, some organisations are working to speed up changes to working structures.