Bank of Ireland says bonuses at risk as not enough staff meeting minimum number of office days

The lender said in a note to staff that it can commence disciplinary proceedings for those who do not meet the minimum number of in-person work days 

In July last year, Bank of Ireland announced that hybrid staff would be required to work in person for a minimum of two days per week or eight days per month. Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Bank of Ireland has said that not enough of its staff are meeting the minimum number of in-person work days mandated by the company. 

In a message to employees on Monday, senior management at the bank said that meeting the minimum in-person attendance set out in its hybrid working approach will now be part of how the company assesses performance.

In July last year, Bank of Ireland announced that hybrid staff would be required to work in person for a minimum of two days per week or eight days per month. 

"Unfortunately, it is clear that not enough of us are meeting the minimum requirements set more than six months ago," according to the message.

It also announced that from June, swipe-in data for staff will be visible and reported on a monthly basis to line managers.

It warned that staff who do not meet their minimum in-person requirements will receive a full-year rating of "inconsistent", which could impact future bonuses and pay increases.

"Meeting the minimum in-person attendance set out in our hybrid working approach will now be part of how we assess performance. This is coming into effect for full-year ratings for 2026, which will be communicated in Q1 2027," the message said.

"If colleagues do not meet the requirement, the bank can commence disciplinary proceedings as it would for any matter of non-compliance."

The note also thanked staff members who are meeting and exceeding the bank's minimum requirement, acknowledging that not all employees are in a position to work from home. 

"For those eligible to work in a hybrid way, it is a considerable benefit and - to be fair to everyone in the company - we have to make sure that the policy is consistently adhered to," the note said. 

"Whilst exception considerations are now closed, BOI remains committed to sensible day-to-day flexibility, which will continue to be agreed between colleague and manager."

'Serious departure' from previous commitments

In a message to its members, the Financial Services Union (FSU) said it strongly opposes the new measures, calling it a "serious departure" from previous commitments made by Bank of Ireland.

"Our union strongly opposes the bank’s announcement today that they intend to link monitoring of individual digital swipe data to performance ratings and disciplinaries," the FSU said.

"This is a serious departure from commitments previously given to the union by the bank, where they stated that they would not be monitoring any individual digital swipes."

"Making this announcement in the middle of a fuel cost crisis and international calls to utilise working from home indicates a lack of awareness of the financial hardships that employees are experiencing."

The FSU also highlighted concerns regarding data protection, collection and processing, adding that it would raise these matters with the Data Protection Commission and the Bank "as a matter of urgency."

The union added that it will attend, "in good faith", an arbitration meeting scheduled for Tuesday on hybrid working arrangements.

The FSU said it will be convening a meeting later this week to discuss the change announced by Bank of Ireland and assess next steps.