Employee Relocation Dilemma: Can We Require Staff to Return to Bengaluru or Face Termination?

Employee Relocation and Work from Bengaluru

Most of our employees had traveled back to their hometowns and had been working from home for the past 8 months. There have been several system issues and company computers damaged in the process. Hence, we want everyone to come back to Bangalore and start working so that all technical issues can be sorted out immediately. This is not from the office but from wherever they used to stay while living in Bengaluru.

A few employees do not want to travel and can't provide a proper date for when they can work from Bengaluru. There is a possibility they will quit when we open the office. Can we force employees to travel and work from their actual place of work? Can we terminate someone if they refuse to report from Bangalore?

Dear Shweta, I am not an expert in computers and networking to fully understand the technical problems you mentioned. However, the point here is that by compelling employees to return to Bengaluru, they are once again required to work from home (WFH). So, what's the difference?

The option of WFH

The option of WFH is typically resorted to only when mobility is highly restricted due to the pandemic as a preventive measure. If normalcy seems to be restored and mobility has become unrestricted and convenient, the employer can revise the working norms. If a higher rate of attrition is expected in the wake of WFH, that cannot be the sole reason to compel employees to return to their official residence despite the continuation of WFH. In fact, it may facilitate job hopping.

Management considerations

On the other hand, it is better for management to analyze the actual reasons for such a situation, such as your compensation package, welfare measures, and the rigor of extracting work during the phase of WFH, etc. Therefore, in my opinion, management should make a decision considering the totality of the situation rather than merely insisting on their physical presence at headquarters despite the continuance of WFH.

Travel Restrictions and Employee Return

Employees are no different from ordinary citizens of the country. If there are no travel restrictions in reaching Bengaluru, then some of your employees cannot claim anything extra, provided there is no travel restriction at the originating station or anywhere on the way.

As the economy is limping back to normalcy and governments are working hard to normalize the situation with due safeguards, your insistence on employees returning to Bengaluru is not improper or illegal. Provide sufficient notice and give travel time concessions, which would vary from case to case.

Impact of Working from Home on Employee Turnover

How working from home at native places would increase employee turnover is not easily understood. Indeed, once back in Bengaluru, more opportunities would come knocking on their door! For technical reasons, their physical presence at arm's length is a sound reason to call them back.

Thank you for your valuable inputs. There are several major issues we are facing with WFH from hometown. One is frequent power cuts, which prevent associates from logging in for a few hours because they don't have a backup at home. This affects work. Then, power fluctuations damage the systems, and they have to be repaired, leaving the associate unable to work until their computer is functioning again. Additionally, there are network issues and slow internet connections. The company is willing to reimburse for high-speed connections, but certain places don't have provisions for them.

Once in Bangalore, all the above problems can be resolved, and we will have our technical team on call to fix any issues immediately by visiting the associate's place.

I fear the attrition rates are beginning to climb as people have gotten used to working from home and don't want to travel or stay away from family, especially when they have to continue working from home in Bangalore as well.

Gradually opening the office is always on the cards. With everyone in the city, it makes the transition easier.

Exactly the reason why the management waited all these months. We didn't want the travel restrictions and quarantining to hinder the transition. A month's notice was given for everyone to move back to Bangalore.

From what I have understood, it's easier to find work-from-home jobs now, and hence people don't want to move from their hometown.

Returning to the Office: Employer and Employee Decisions

It is up to employers, in conjunction with employees, to make the call on returning to the office. There is no point in forcing it if remote working hasn’t hurt productivity and profitability.

Relaxation of Restrictions by the Union Government

Restrictions imposed by the Union Government (Ministry of Home Affairs-MHA) are now slowly relaxing, thereby promoting business activities. Management/employers may review the situation and make necessary changes to the previously established rules and regulations after notifying employees.

Guidelines for Surveillance, Containment, and Caution

MHA, through its order dated 25th of November, has issued guidelines for surveillance, containment, and caution, which will be in force until 31/12/2020. It has also released a list of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for various activities. Based on this, the State Government may have issued necessary guidelines to be followed. Please refer to these guidelines applicable to the State of Karnataka and make the necessary arrangements.

Due to the current COVID-19 situation, many companies are working from home, and the company has provided all the equipment to the employees for the smooth functioning of work from home. In this situation, you can create a policy focusing on the major issues, such as:

1. Employees should inform their reporting manager or HR before moving to any other city along with the office laptop for work.
2. Employees should sign a document for any damage to office assets during work from home. (You can include these points in a separate annexure)
3. Employees must visit the office if called by the manager or any senior manager for official reasons.

Such a policy will be beneficial for you.