Law firm Osborne Clarke is reopening its London, Bristol and Reading offices today (July 27) as part of a staged return to the workplace for staff.
The company has kept its Ƶ offices open since March for “core” support teams, but the majority of employees have been working from home.
Staff will need to request permission to access the office, according to Osborne Clarke, which said priority would be given to people with “wellbeing issues” and those needing face-to-face client meetings or access to physical documents.
The firm has told staff to take their temperature at home “if they can” before coming into the office. It also said employees “need to be confident” they have no symptoms of coronavirus.
The law firm said it had put measures in place to make sure its offices were “Covid-19 secure”, including a one-way system, lift queuing, and hand sanitiser stations and antiviral wipes at desks, facility points, meeting rooms and kitchens.
Only one floor will be open in each office to a maximum capacity of 10 per cent and on-site cafes and lunch facilities will remain closed.
According to Osborne Clarke, desks will be at least two metres apart, and clearly marked, with employees collecting a clean keyboard and mouse on arrival, which will be stored in lockers.
Peter Clough, head of the Bristol office, said: "We are being cautious and following Ƶ government guidance.
“Our number one priority is the safety of our people and our clients and we want to minimise pressure on public transport. We will only open our offices if we are sure they can operate on a Covid-secure basis."
The firm said its gradual return to the office follows a consultation with partners and employees.
According to Osborne Clarke, the consultation asked employees about their experience of working from home, feelings about returning to the office and using public transport, and how they would like to balance home and office working in the future.
Mr Clough added: "It's too early to say how our future offices and staff will want to work but we have always operated as a flexible workplace so we envisage a mix of home and office working.
"But for all the advantages of working from home, our offices have been configured to provide a great environment for learning, innovation, cross-selling and socialising, both within and between teams and with our clients. It will be good for this to continue."
Osborne Clarke said stage two of its plan to get staff back into the workplace would begin in September but would be dependent on the success of stage one and any change in government guidance.
