[UK] PwC’s traffic-light monitoring for office attendance

In the UK, multinational professional services network PwC has introduced a traffic-light dashboard to monitor employees’ office attendance, Personnel Today reports.

Data taken from swipe cards and WiFi connections allows partners and managers to monitor people’s attendance at PwC offices on a dashboard, which went live in April.

The dashboard reportedly displays red when attendance drops below 40 per cent, amber for 40-60 per cent in-office working, and green when attendance is above 60 per cent. 

Employees also have access to their own data.

In September 2024, PwC informed 26,000 employees by email that, from January 2025, it will begin tracking them in the same way it monitors the number of chargeable hours they work.

The email stated that staff must work at least 60 per cent of their time in PwC offices or at its clients’ sites. Staff who breach the policy can face formal sanctions, and performance evaluations and bonuses could potentially be affected, guidance seen by the Financial Times said.

Speaking to the FT, a senior PwC staff member reportedly said they had “lost count” of the number of colleagues who had raised concerns. While a different staffer said employees had asked for greater transparency as the firm began “pushing hard” to improve office attendance.

A PwC spokesperson said, “There are clear benefits to in-person work for both our people and clients, and we have seen these borne out since adjusting our approach to hybrid working at the beginning of this year.

“The dashboard ensures our people have easy access to their attendance data, so they can manage and plan their time in a way that works for them, our teams and our clients. We remain committed to flexibility, including the option for people to condense their usual working hours and finish early on Friday lunchtime for six weeks in the summer.”

Stephen Simpson - principal HR strategy and practice editor at Brightmine - said, “There’s no law against employers using monitoring tools to track their employees, especially when it comes to enforcing rules such as tracking the number of days people work in specific locations. These tools are particularly useful for larger organisations with multiple offices in different locations, such as PwC’s offices, so it’s no surprise they are implementing this measure.”

However, he reportedly cautioned employers to consider the data protection implications of such tools. Under GDPR, employers must conduct a data protection impact assessment when launching a new system or changing an existing one. Particularly if there’s a high risk to employees’ rights and freedoms.

Source: Personnel Today

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

In the UK, multinational professional services network PwC has introduced a traffic-light dashboard to monitor employees’ office attendance, Personnel Today reports.

Data taken from swipe cards and WiFi connections allows partners and managers to monitor people’s attendance at PwC offices on a dashboard, which went live in April.

The dashboard reportedly displays red when attendance drops below 40 per cent, amber for 40-60 per cent in-office working, and green when attendance is above 60 per cent. 

Employees also have access to their own data.

In September 2024, PwC informed 26,000 employees by email that, from January 2025, it will begin tracking them in the same way it monitors the number of chargeable hours they work.

The email stated that staff must work at least 60 per cent of their time in PwC offices or at its clients’ sites. Staff who breach the policy can face formal sanctions, and performance evaluations and bonuses could potentially be affected, guidance seen by the Financial Times said.

Speaking to the FT, a senior PwC staff member reportedly said they had “lost count” of the number of colleagues who had raised concerns. While a different staffer said employees had asked for greater transparency as the firm began “pushing hard” to improve office attendance.

A PwC spokesperson said, “There are clear benefits to in-person work for both our people and clients, and we have seen these borne out since adjusting our approach to hybrid working at the beginning of this year.

“The dashboard ensures our people have easy access to their attendance data, so they can manage and plan their time in a way that works for them, our teams and our clients. We remain committed to flexibility, including the option for people to condense their usual working hours and finish early on Friday lunchtime for six weeks in the summer.”

Stephen Simpson - principal HR strategy and practice editor at Brightmine - said, “There’s no law against employers using monitoring tools to track their employees, especially when it comes to enforcing rules such as tracking the number of days people work in specific locations. These tools are particularly useful for larger organisations with multiple offices in different locations, such as PwC’s offices, so it’s no surprise they are implementing this measure.”

However, he reportedly cautioned employers to consider the data protection implications of such tools. Under GDPR, employers must conduct a data protection impact assessment when launching a new system or changing an existing one. Particularly if there’s a high risk to employees’ rights and freedoms.

Source: Personnel Today

(Links and quotes via original reporting)