Bank of Ireland changes to hybrid working arrangements need agreement with the FSU

Initial survey results of FSU members in BOI show 97% of respondents describe working from home as extremely important (88%) or somewhat important (9%) says FSU

The Financial Services Union (FSU) have described the recent announcement by Bank of Ireland (BOI) of a minimum mandated 8 days/month in person work as problematic and at variance with the views of staff.

Bank of Ireland recently announced to staff a major change to hybrid working that would mandate a minimum of 8 days/month in-person work with a start date of September.

Commenting on the announcement Caitleen Desetti, Industrial Relation Organiser with the FSU said:

“This is a major change for staff and will have implications for work/life balance, commute time, childcare, staff retention, and more.

Any change of this enormity needs to be agreed with the union prior to implementation.

The FSU is seeking an agreement with the Bank that facilitates reasonable and positive hybrid arrangements while also protecting the rights of employees to hybrid work.

We launched a wide-ranging consultation process with our membership in BOI last Friday receiving over 1000 responses in the first 24 hours.

Overall feedback is very strong.

• 97% describe working from home as extremely important (88%) or somewhat important (9%).
• 83% think 8 days/month in-office is unreasonably high.
• 61% say the requirement would cause them to consider changing jobs.
• 96% say that protecting the ability to work from home should be a priority for our union.

We have held discussions with BOI over the last number of days and that dialogue will continue over the coming weeks with a view to reaching an amicable agreement.

The feedback received will be conveyed directly to the Bank during our discussions.”

ENDS