Deutsche Bank pays employees in the home office 1000 euros

Modern work
Deutsche Bank pays employees in the home office EUR 1,000 lump sum for expenses

More than a year ago, Deutsche Bank announced that it wanted to revise the home office rules for its employees. The bank has now reached an agreement with the general works council: All Deutsche Bank AG employees can spend up to 40 percent of their working hours in the home office. That corresponds to one to two days a week, as the “Handelsblatt” reports.

If the next higher supervisor agrees, home work up to three days per week is permitted. Anyone who works in the mobile office for at least two days a week receives a flat-rate fee of 1,000 euros from Deutsche Bank every five years. In addition, the group provides its employees with basic equipment consisting of a laptop, mouse and headset free of charge.

“With this general works agreement, we have finally reached a regulation that will enable our colleagues in the participating companies to work mobile under reasonable and fair conditions,” said the chairman of the general works council of Deutsche Bank, Frank Schulze, of the “Handelsblatt”. “We are more than satisfied with this result.”

A spokeswoman for the bank said: “Over the past few months, we have worked with the general works council to develop the framework for a hybrid working model. This offers our employees both flexibility and a reliable framework.”

Home office rules do not apply to all Deutsche Bank employees

However, not all Deutsche Bank employees benefit from the offer. “The regulations initially only apply to employees in the Deutsche Bank AG companies whose works councils have instructed the general works council to conclude the works agreement,” said the spokeswoman. According to the spokeswoman, talks are ongoing with the other works councils.

For many former Postbank operations of Deutsche Bank AG, for example, the home office regulation does not yet apply. CEO Karl von Rohr and HR manager Michael Ilgner informed the bank in a letter that they wanted to have “constructive talks” with the other works councils and other group companies for which they had not yet been able to conclude an agreement. The reason is that the general works council is only responsible for Deutsche Bank AG and not for its group companies.

The bank spokeswoman explained: “Basically, the bank would like to make mobile working possible for all employees. There are areas that cannot participate for regulatory reasons and due to the nature of the activity, for example in the retail and service areas of the branches.” Executives are also excluded from the offer.

Verdi criticizes the agreement

Criticism of the home office regulation comes from the Verdi union. “We consider it a problem that this agreement was made at the level of the general works council and not at the level of the group works council, because many employees, such as the service companies, are excluded from it,” said union secretary Kevin Voss. Verdi therefore requires local agreements, a collective bargaining agreement or a group works agreement. According to the head of the general works council, Schulze, however, it is not that easy by law to redirect such agreements to the group works council.

Voss also criticizes that the Deutsche Bank rules for the expense allowance are “too inflexible”. Because the employees have to commit themselves to fixed days in the home office in advance. In the ongoing collective bargaining talks in the banking industry, Verdi is encountering resistance from private banks. Verdi demands a right to home office of up to 60 percent of the working time and a flat-rate equipment fee of 1500 euros.

Home office rules at banks vary

Nevertheless, the topic of home office has come more into focus due to the corona pandemic. However, the strategy of the banks is quite different. Not every bank offers the option of working from home and supports this type of work. The German ING is providing the sum of 1000 euros for the purchase of office equipment.

A Dax survey carried out by the “Handelsblatt” in June showed that only Allianz paid its employees a one-time home office allowance of EUR 300 gross and EUR 150 support for the purchase of an ergonomic office chair. Some banks had paid their employees between 500 and 1500 euros – but only as a one-off payment

A majority of the employees of the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank (ECB) are currently working from home due to the Corona situation. Those employees who do not come from Germany are allowed to work in their home countries and still receive a foreign allowance, even though they do not work in what they see as a foreign Germany. The home office offer is initially valid until the end of January 2022. This means that the ECB employees do not receive a flat-rate fee for working in the home office like the employees of Deutsche Bank, but they also benefit from a certain financial “subsidy”.

Sources: Handelsblatt, world