The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has told banks, building societies and credit unions that they need to carefully consider which of their workers should be able to work remotely in order to deal with COVID-19 appropriately.
Even thought the top financial markets watchdog in the UK has said that the services provided by these institutions are essential, that does not mean that all workers must be in the office.
The regulator reminded the companies that each firm’s designated senior manager or equivalent person is responsible for identifying which of their employees are unable to perform their jobs from home and who therefore must travel to the workplace.
“We expect the total number of roles requiring an ongoing physical presence in the office or business continuity site to be far smaller than the number of workers needed to ensure all of a firm’s business activities continue to function on a business as usual basis,” the FCA added in a statement.
For example, the FCA is not expect financial advisers, staff who can safely and securely trade shares and financial instruments from home, business support staff such as those in IT professionals, and claims management companies and those selling non-essential goods and credit to be required to come into the office.
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