Workplace Guide: Return to Office (RTO)

Introduction

Despite lockdowns proving that we can work as productively from home as we can from the office, employers are increasingly imposing return-to-office (RTO) mandates.

This has the consequences of undermining workplace inclusivity and equity by disproportionately worsening the lives of new parents, caregivers, and disabled workers.

It also threatens the benefits people have enjoyed from remote work, such as less time spent commuting, lower travel costs, eating freshly prepared food at home and having more time to spend with friends and family.

We believe that you should have the right to work where you want! Our union, UTAW, has played its part securing that right for workers like you in workplaces like yours. Read this guide and join other tech workers in UTAW so that you can have the final say

Impact on New Parents

New parents often face heightened challenges balancing professional responsibilities with childcare. Remote work has provided flexibility, allowing parents to manage both roles more effectively.

Mandating a return to the office can disrupt this balance, leading to increased stress and reduced job satisfaction.

Such mandates disproportionately affect working parents, undoing progress that has been made in workplace equity.

Impact on Caregivers

Caregivers, particularly those attending to dependant family members, rely on flexible work arrangements to fulfil their caregiving duties.

Therefore, adherence to a rigid RTO policy could force caregivers to choose between their job and their caregiving responsibilities, leading to difficult decisions and potential workforce attrition.

Impact on Disabled Workers

Remote work has opened up employment opportunities for disabled people by removing barriers (both physical and logistical) associated with traditional office environments.

Analysis from the Economic Innovation Group found that remote jobs saw the largest increase in the share of employees with disabilities, suggesting that remote work can lead to job opportunities across fields. Forcing a return to the office threatens to reverse these gains.

Your Individual Rights

When employers try to impose changes, such as forced RTO, the best way to permanently prevent them is through collective responses. However, there are ways to push back on an individual level:

The starting point is to find out what your terms and conditions of employment are. This is usually found in your employment contract, as that is the document that sets out the agreement between you and the employer about the operation of the employment relationship.

You should retain copies of all employment documentation. It does not matter too much whether you retain a hard copy or an electronic copy, but you should try to have a copy of the documents that you signed (whether physically or digitally).

Please note that most employment contracts often have a clause in them that states the contractual document is the only place that states the terms of the agreement, and that any previous versions/iterations of the contract are not relevant to the present agreement (This is sometimes called an ‘entire agreement’ clause).

If your terms have changed, you should check whether the changes are in line with the contract (some contracts will specify that all changes must be agreed in writing, others will allow the employer to vary its terms without consultation so long as the changes are reasonable).

Some employers will send you a new contract, with all the current terms of employment consolidated into one document. Others will simply send correspondence with confirmation of the changed clause with all other terms remaining unaffected. It is useful to know what approach your employer uses.

Your written terms will contain the usual things such as job title, salary, annual leave allowance and number of hours to be worked. Other things about what is expected from employees should also be included, such as things like:

Probationary periods;

Notice periods;

Workplace location (i.e. where you will be working);

Explanation of which terms are incorporated into the contract and which are not (cf. company handbook, bonus scheme etc.);

Specifics on circumstances when and how the agreement can be changed (usually found under the heading ‘Variation’);

All of these matters are important, as they will affect how the employer deals with any proposed changes to your terms and conditions.

For example, an employer that is permitted to make unilateral changes to an employee’s terms merely needs to tell the employee what those changes are and it does not necessarily need to seek agreement – although there may be a particular format for the changes to take place (e.g. notification in writing at least 30 days before the proposed change).

In contrast, an employer that is required to seek the employee’s agreement should be seeking confirmation that the proposed contractual change is agreed. Often, what employers do is to dress up the agreed contractual change as the employee’s acknowledgement of a change to his/her terms and conditions.

It is therefore important for employees to know what their contractual rights are so that they can properly engage with their employer(s) on an individual level.

Alternative to the Contractual Route

If an employee is not happy with the employer’s rule in relation to their working location, it would normally be necessary for that clause to be changed by way of a contractual variation. As noted above, this is usually done by agreeing the change.

However, there are two options that are not linked to the contract. They are flexible working and reasonable adjustments.

Flexible Working

Under the Working Time Regulations, employees are permitted to ask for permission to work flexibly (known as a ‘flexible working request’). There is a lot of guidance available in this area – please have a look at the links section at the end of this guide as a starting point.

The perceived weaknesses of this type of request are:

It is only possible to make a maximum of two requests in a 12-month period; and

There is no right to working flexibly and the employer can refuse the application on a ‘business ground’, of which there are eight.

Reasonable Adjustments

Employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for any employee that may have protected characteristics, especially if you can do your job remotely and working remote/hybrid is an effective way of managing that (those) protected characteristic(s).

There is already guidance on how this ought to be pursued – please have a look at the links section at the end of this guide.

Which Route?

It is important to note that it can be difficult to get employers to agree flexible working. This is because there are 8 reasons for refusal that are baked into legislation (see s.80G ERA 1996).

Those reasons for refusal are:

the burden of additional costs,
detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand,
inability to re-organise work among existing staff,
inability to recruit additional staff,
detrimental impact on quality,
detrimental impact on performance,
insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work, and
planned structural changes

It is not necessary for the employer to provide a right to appeal this decision.

In contrast, it is more difficult for employers to refuse requests for reasonable adjustments, if the employee meets the relevant criteria. If the reasonable adjustment is for a disability, neurodivergence or chronic health issue, you may need to request or agree to an occupational health assessment. If you do, make sure to tell the clinician your needs as they will record it in the official occupational health report.

It is, though, important that employees carefully follow employers’ policies and procedures to pursue such requests. This will be the subject of a separate guide.

Overall

Whilst it is possible for individuals to oppose contractual changes on a personal level, without collective action, the employer has a stronger hand in imposing them.

The Collective Approach

The work we do supporting our members means we have first-hand experience of the negative impact of RTO mandates.

We believe that forcing employees to return to office against their will is an unfair work practice and often an excuse to monitor workers unnecessarily. Some people prefer office-based working, and that's great. But others suffer tremendously.

We believe that employees should have the final say over when and where they work. Only this approach will ensure employees’ welfare.

So, what can you do?

If you are facing forced RTO, you are not alone and there are ways you can fight back. The good news is, there are lots of workers like you who have fought back and won...

Employees Win Against Forced Return-to-Office Mandates

Many companies have faced resistance from employees regarding RTO policies, leading to adjustments and more flexible arrangements:

Apple: In 2022, Apple employees pushed back against the company's RTO plans, advocating for more flexible work options. The resistance led to delays and modifications of the initial RTO mandate;

Northcoders: In 2024, Northcoders employees wrote an open letter signed by a majority of workers. Sending this was enough to make senior leadership change their decision for forced return to office;

Civilian Met Workers: In early 2025, desk based, civilian employees working for the Met workers were on strike over forced return to office.

How to …

If you're facing RTO and want to fight back collectively, here are 3 steps you can take.

1. Power in numbers 👭

Acting collectively is the first step to fighting unfair RTOs. If you’re affected, speak to your colleagues and get organised. We offer training for members.

2. Join a union 💪

Unions are just people, like you, working together to enact meaningful changes to their lives;

By joining a union you are better protected against unfair work practices;

Join us here.

3. Plan your response 📝

There are different ways you can fight RTO. Whether that is through collective grievances, open letters, or even escalating to withholding your labour (strike action).

Every company and situation is different, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach. By joining a union and making contact with a rep or organiser, at the same time as speaking to colleagues about how the RTO mandate affects them, you can start to plan your response.

We offer training and resources to help you. Become a member, join our Discord and reach out to one of our reps!

Workplace Guide: Return to Office (RTO)

Contents

Introduction

Impact on New Parents

Impact on Caregivers

Impact on Disabled Workers

Your Individual Rights

Alternative to the Contractual Route

Flexible Working

Reasonable Adjustments

Which Route?

Overall

The Collective Approach

Employees Win Against Forced Return-to-Office Mandates

How to …

1. Power in numbers 👭

2. Join a union 💪

3. Plan your response 📝

Further Reading and Resources

Variation of Contract

Flexible Working

Reasonable Adjustments