Leaked UBS document offers road map for how City may return to the office

Traders, portfolio managers and analysts should be brought back into the office during what the document describes as “risk level two”, when new cases of Covid-19 have been trending down for two weeks, schools re-open or some lockdown restrictions are lifted.

Life will still be far from normal under such a scenario. Companies should consider temperature checking employees, marking out areas to keep people at a safe distance, asking all visitors to certify their health, keeping all meetings online and asking staff to wear face masks.

Even then, there are other potential implications, the document suggested, including legal liabilities of forcing staff to come into the office when infection risks are still high and even asking employees to take holiday during lockdown to stop a huge surge in requests later in the year.

Things to consider, says the document:

“How to handle an employee that does not want to return to the office … legal liabilities and litigation risk of ‘forcing’ staff to travel to work – what if they become infected during commute or at work,” and that firms should “consider messaging of ‘return to office’ carefully. Focus on how a person’s contribution is valued, the impact of their absence from office on revenue potential for the business.”

Investment banks and other large financial services organisations are digesting the full impact of Covid-19 on their workforces, with the vast majority of employees now working remotely.

Senior bankers have told Financial News that they are already considering shrinking real estate as they anticipate fewer staff working full-time in the wake of the virus. Barclays’ chief executive Jes Staley said that the days of big offices for the financial sector “may be a thing of the past” while Deutsche Bank boss Christian Sewing said that the past four weeks had prompted the German lender to consider cutting back real estate.

Wall Street and City firms are planning a staggered return to work, that will see fewer people in office space as social distancing requirements continue. Banks such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are preparing to put double the usual space between people on the trading floor when they start bringing people back into the office, people familiar with the moves told FN earlier this month, which will require continued splitting of their teams.

A UBS spokeswoman told Financial News: “As a leading prime broker, we provide our clients with information and observations that help them to manage their businesses, a core focus that we have continued throughout the current turbulent times.”