Tory MPs urge Boris Johnson to scrap work from home guidance next month
Conservative MPs have called on Boris Johnson to lift work from home guidance next month to speed up an economic rebound.
They argue that with more than half the adult population having received a Covid jab, those who want to return to the office should be allowed to do so.
Clarity is yet to emerge on whether people will continue to be advised to work from home as the UK navigates its way out of the pandemic.
Changes are being considered as a part of a social distancing review, with alterations expected to come no earlier than 17 June.
Johnson ‘should follow the data’
Lockdown-sceptic Tory MP Steve Barker told the Telegraph that businesses dependent on full offices will be in “existential difficulty” if change doesn’t happen.
“That’s why Boris Johnson should follow the data and get us back to the office as soon as is safe and feasible.
“With the vulnerable vaccinated and the link between hospitalisations and deaths now broken, I would have thought the Prime Minister should be exploring April 12 for a return to offices.”
‘Hybrid arrangement’ backed
Another senior conservative backbencher echoed Barker’s thoughts, backing a “more hybrid arrangement”.
“My general view is that if the data stays good and improves then things should be accelerated,” they told the Telegraph.
“I don’t take the view that people should be forced to go back to the office. I think that people should be free to go back to the office.”
WFH fatigue sets in
Both the prime minister and Rishi Sunak recently said that they expect many people to return to offices.
Work from home fatigue is setting in, with a 20 per cent rise in those planning to return to the workplace.
A study by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found that in the three months to February, 80 per cent of employees were keen to head back to the office once the pandemic is over.