Work

Tui tells UK staff to spend just one day a month in office in Covid working shift

Travel company offering ‘total flexibility’ to employees

The new flexible approach will not apply to some employees such as pilots, cabin crew, engineering and maintenance, or workers in retail stores. Photograph: iStock

Daniel Thomas
Wed Jul 14 2021 - 12:58

Tui, the UK's largest travel company, has told its UK workers they will only need to be in the office for one day a month in the latest sign of the fundamental shift in working practices caused by the pandemic. The company is considering similar plans across its European operations.

It said on Wednesday that it would offer “total flexibility” to staff as it shifts to a permanent, flexible working approach. “Work is something we do, not somewhere we go,” Tui said.

Next week, the UK government will drop rules asking for workers to stay at home where possible, and replace them with a recommendation for a gradual return to the workplace. The Government’s recommendation in the Republic remains to work from home where this is possible.

Many companies found during the pandemic that homeworking or a hybrid arrangement between the home and the office suits both staff and operations better, leading to permanent change in working practices.

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Tui employs more than 10,000 people, although the new flexible approach will not apply to some employees such as pilots, cabin crew, engineering and maintenance, or workers in retail stores.

Property portfolio

The move will also mean that the company will review its property portfolio, although Tui said that in the short term there were no plans for changes given the need for space for collaboration and meetings.

The Germany-based group has struggled during the Covid-19 crisis, incurring heavy losses after most tourist markets have in effect shut for much of the past 18 months.

The majority of Tui’s office-based employees in the UK have worked from home since the start of the pandemic in March last year.

Andrew Flintham, managing director of Tui UK, said that the "pandemic has allowed us as an organisation to take a step back and make necessary changes to the way we work, communicate and collaborate". – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2021

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