For many individuals, the decision was based on health – coronavirus levels are usually higher in cities – but for some it was the results of a cost benefit analysis. Compared to London, other locations, say Wales, are a lot cheaper to live in. The average commuting costs for those living within rural Wales is just £743, according to Money.com. So, with employees potentially benefitting from lower costs in the long term should employers dock salaries?

Facebook has plans to adjust pay on this system. Chief Executive Mark Zuckering told staff last summer that: “We’ll adjust salary to your location at that point . . .” And they’re not alone in thinking employees should take a hit for new structures of work. Deutsche Bank recently proposed making staff pay a five per cent ‘tax’ for each day they choose to work remotely once restrictions are lifted around the world and the ‘new normal’ ensues. Deutsche Bank argues that it would leave the average employee “no worse off” because of savings made by not commuting and not buying lunch on-the-go and fewer purchases of work clothing.

Justifying the concept, Deutsche Bank Strategist, Luke Templeman, told The Guardian: “A big chunk of people have disconnected themselves from the face-to-face world yet are still leading a full economic life. That means remote workers are contributing less to the infrastructure of the economy whilst still receiving its benefits. That is a big problem for the economy.”

‘Outrage’

However, the concept of expecting workers to potentially choose between remote working and earning less money, or working in an office and earning more money (but spending more), has outraged some from the HR and worker wellbeing communities such as Jane van Zyl, Chief Executive of UK work-life balance charity Working Families. She told HR Grapevine: “Simply put, employees should not have to pay for better wellbeing. Companies that implement effective flexible working practices benefit enormously from better talent attraction, retention, engagement and performance—all of which will have a positive impact on the bottom line. Expecting staff to pay for the privilege of flexibility would run the risk of undermining many of these good outcomes.”

However, if the choice between continuing to work remotely and taking a paycut or returning to the office were given, recent Forbes data suggests that a whopping 44% of workers would take this option, so long as the pay cut was under 10%. Yet Rachael Power, Head of People at LoveCrafts, notes that those deciding salary based on such things are missing the point. “Pre-pandemic/remote working, it wasn’t typical practice to set a new hire compensation package according to how far or expensive their commute was,” she says. “These decisions are based on the role requirements and skills they bring to the business and it’s up to the candidate to determine whether that’s a motivating and fair package and covers their costs.

“I don’t believe that has changed simply because they may now work remotely. The next decision is whether a role can be performed optimally if permanently fully remote and if so, the local market rate will clearly be a determining factor in future comp decisions,” she adds.