City law firms join growing home-working crackdown

CITY law firms have joined the growing list of employers tracking office attendance data amid a crackdown on home-working staff who are failing to comply with company policies.

International law firm Hogan Lovells is currently monitoring swipe card entry data to see how often individuals work from its London and Birmingham offices. It began monitoring individual office attendance data in October last year to help assess how its hybrid working policy is working in practice, said Hogan Lovells spokesman.

Hogan Lovells, one of the largest law firms in the world, currently requires UK staff to spend at least 60pc of the working week from the office. It does not plan to change this approach.

The firm, where partners on average are paid £1.8m, is also using occupancy data as it prepares to move into a new London headquarters in 2026.

A Hogan Lovells spokesman said: “The swipe card entry data that we are collecting is not the only element of our occupancy trends that will be reviewed and we recognise there are many factors that influence the accuracy of this data, including holidays, business travel, public transport strikes and secondments.”

Meanwhile, Taylor Wessing confirmed that its “leadership teams receive data to understand individual office attendance levels”.

The tech and venture capital specialist, which rewards lawyers with crypto tokens for outstanding contributions to the firm, currently requires employees to spend at least three days per week working either in office or with clients.

The law firm is completely refurbishing its London headquarters after renewing its office lease last year.

It follows similar action taken by rivals Clifford Chance, Slaughter and May, and “big four” auditor EY.

However, surveillance plans could have long-term implications for recruitment and retention, says Elizabeth Rimmer, chief executive of LawCare, a UK legal mental health charity. She said: “Monitoring staff like this creates distrust, which can lead to anxiety and stress, undermining mental health.”