Stick and carrot method to end WFH: Google plans to slash salaries of staff who refuse to return to desks while London lettings firm says demand is rising for 'destination' offices with gyms, roof-terraces and running tracks

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Google is planning to slash the salaries of staff who refuse to return to the office with those who live further away hit harder. 

The move is part of a Silicon Valley experiment and will see employees who work from home paid less because of the savings they make on commuting and costs like food. 

Though the plans are being considered in the US for the moment, it is thought that Google could later apply them to its London office. 

The tech giant is preparing for UK staff to return to the office from October - though it expects about a fifth of staff to continue working from home. 

And, according to research from CV Library and Reed, the number of working from home positions available are continuing to rise. 

CV library carried nearly 70,000 postings which allowed remote working between March and July 2021 – four times the number of the year before. On Reed, just 1% of jobs offered remote working in 2019, with the number now at 5%

However, Paul Williams, chief executive of property firm Derwent London, says he expects businesses to return to the office from September, with demand rising for offices with amenities such as gyms, bars and running tracks. 

A running track at a site owned by property firm Derwent London. The firm's CEO said demand is rising for offices with appealing amenities

Google headquarters in London. Google is planning to pay employees who work from home less because of the savings they make on commuting and costs like food

The cost of commuting: Mail Online analysis on the thousands of pounds and hundreds of hours people living outside London spend commuting to and from work in the capital. Hours calculated through average journey time multiplied by number of days average UK worker works

It comes after it was revealed that Whitehall officials are considering stripping civil servants of their London weighting if they continue working from home – a salary boost worth around £4,000. 

Downing Street refused to condemn civil servants resisting a return to Whitehall, however, amid the calls for them to face a pay cut if they want to continue to work from home.  

Property firm chief Mr Williams told BBC Radio 4 Today that his clients are eager to return to offices from September. 

He said: 'The demand is being driven by a war for talent. There's a fight for good, green buildings that are zero carbon. 

'An adaptable place, a place for people to go for amenities, a building that's got a running track and all the things. A place to go and develop and have creativity.

'Talking to our customers over the last 6 to 18 months there's a strong desire to get back. We are seeing a desire to get back and lots more people planning to get back from September. 

'People want to go back to the office. Whether it's to learn or see their colleagues. We've got a lot of roof terraces, bars, gyms. If you keep creating great buildings, more people will come back.'   

MailOnline analysis suggests workers could save thousands of pounds and hundreds of hours by working from home instead of commuting into an office in London. 

Property firm chief Mr Williams told BBC Radio 4 Today that his clients are eager to return to offices from September 

Mr Williams says he expects businesses to return to the office from September, with demand rising for offices with amenities such as gyms, bars and running tracks

Mr Williams added: 'People want to go back to the office. Whether it's to learn or see their colleagues. We've got a lot of roof terraces, bars, gyms. If you keep creating great buildings, more people will come back'

Some of the available amenities in an office building developed by property developer Derwent London

Congestion on UK streets is still comfortably less than the same time in 2020 and 2019 as people gradually return to the office

From Sevenoaks, an annual season ticket costs £3,804, while the journey would see you spend around four hours travelling per week. Annually, this adds up to 166 hours.

From Windsor to London, an annual season ticket costs £3,468, with commuters spending 10 hours a week travelling and 454 hours a year. 

Travel times are the same for Oxford to London - though a season ticket costs £5,544.

Those areas are among some of the most popular destinations for Londoners who left the capital during the pandemic. 

Now, Google is appearing to crackdown on those working from home with its new policy. 

The plan suggests the firm will deduct salaries based on money saved by commuters.  

'Our compensation packages have always been determined by location, and we always pay at the top of the local market based on where an employee works from,' a Google spokesperson said, adding that pay will differ from city to city.

In the US, one Google employee, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, typically commutes to the Seattle office from a nearby county and would see their pay cut by about 10% by working from home full-time, according estimates by the company's Work Location Tool launched in June.

The employee was considering remote work but decided to keep going to the office - despite the two-hour commute. 'It's as high of a pay cut as I got for my most recent promotion. I didn't do all that hard work to get promoted to then take a pay cut,' they said.

Jake Rosenfeld, a sociology professor at Washington University in St. Louis who researches pay determination, said Google's pay structure raises alarms about who will feel the impacts most acutely, including families.

'What's clear is that Google doesn't have to do this,' Rosenfeld said. 'Google has paid these workers at 100% of their prior wage, by definition. So it's not like they can't afford to pay their workers who choose to work remotely the same that they are used to receiving.'

Screenshots of Google's internal salary calculator show that an employee living in Stamford, Connecticut - an hour from New York City by train - would be paid 15% less if she worked from home, while a colleague from the same office living in New York City would see no cut from working from home. 

Interviews with Google employees indicate pay cuts as high as 25% for remote work.    

News of Google's plan comes as Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV Library, says he believes working from home is here to stay.

He told MailOnline: 'Contractual obligations, weighting allowances and individual circumstances will be unique to each business. What is apparent is that flexible working is here to stay and we're in a candidate led market with job postings at a record high. 

'If businesses choose to cut salaries and benefits for those working from home, there will be plenty opportunities from companies who will be prepared to meet the needs of top job seekers.'

In a recent survey, CV Library asked 2,000 candidates the most important factors in choosing a new job. 

More than 50% said a competitive salary - while 43% said reasonable hours and 38.2% said flexible working.

Marcus Storm, of the United Tech and Allied Workers union, said that Google would set a 'dangerous precedent' if it tried to also cut salaries for home workers in the UK. 

He told the Times: 'You are discriminating based on where a worker lives not on their ability or even their ability to come into the office.' 

Joseph Lappin, head of employment at Stewarts, a law firm, said that British workers had 'greater protections' than their counterparts in the US. 'Employers cannot unilaterally change a key term of the employment contract. Pay will always be a key term,' he said. 

Paul Nowak, the TUC's deputy general secretary, said: 'After working hard at home during the pandemic, many workers will want to retain the option of hybrid working into the future. Employers need to negotiate their approach with their staff and unions — without threatening cuts to their pay.'

Civil service union chiefs blasted a Cabinet minister last night for suggesting staff should have their pay cut if they refuse to return to Whitehall (stock image)

Meanwhile, civil service union chiefs blasted a Cabinet minister last night for suggesting staff should have their pay cut if they refuse to return to Whitehall.

They accused ministers of 'dreaming up a rufty-tufty strategy' that was 'devoid of any basis in reality' to force civil servants back into their offices.

Mandarins are also said to have considered stripping civil servants of their London weighting – a salary boost worth around £4,000.

But Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA – the union representing senior civil servants, accused ministers of making 'reckless' and 'cowardly' attacks. 

He said it would be a 'legal minefield' to withdraw London weighting and said those proposing it had 'no idea how this works in reality'.

The PCS, the union for those in government departments, has warned of potential strike action if the Government tries to dock civil servants' pay. 

A Government spokesman said yesterday there were 'no plans to change terms and conditions around London-based pay'.