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Aviva makes work-from-home standard practice post-pandemic

Abigail Fenton
·Writer
Updated ·2 min read
British insurance giant Aviva's headquarters are pictured in London, on October 5, 2009. British insurance giant Aviva announced plans on Monday for a partial stock market flotation of its Dutch subsidiary, Delta Lloyd, on Euronext Amsterdam next month. "Aviva plc and Delta Lloyd confirm their intention to proceed with a listing and initial public offering (IPO) of Delta Lloyd on Euronext Amsterdam, subject to market conditions," a statement read. AFP PHOTO/Ben Stansall (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
'Our intention is to invest in our sites to provide a more vibrant, inspiring and flexible workspace for our people,' Aviva said. Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty

Insurance firm Aviva (AV.L) will close down three UK offices and allow staff to work from home permanently, beyond the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The firm, which employs 16,000 people said the move will not result in any job losses.

Staff will be able to continue working from an office if they prefer, with most expected to spend one day a week in an office, on a rotation basis, according to the firm.

In a statement, the company said: “The way we use our office space is changing significantly.

“We are combining office space in some locations and reducing the space in others.

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“Our intention is to invest in our sites to provide a more vibrant, inspiring and flexible workspace for our people."

Aviva has offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Eastleigh, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leatherhead, Leeds, London, Manchester, Norwich, Perth, Sheffield, Worthing and York.

The firm's Monks Cross and Wellington offices in York will be combined into just one city centre location.

Meanwhile, Norwich's Horizon Business Centre and Willow House sites will be closed and staff will be relocated to its city centre location by 31 March, Aviva said.

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Working from home has become “the new normal” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Just a third (34%) of white-collar working Brits returned to the office after the UK's first lockdown in March, and the country has since experienced two more national lockdowns.

Now, firms such as Microsoft (MSFT), Twitter (TWTR), Amazon (AMZN), Facebook (FB), Capital One (COF), MasterCard (MA), PayPal (PYPL), Shopify (SHOP), Slack (WORK) and many others have decided to allow working from home and other more flexible work options long-term.

Aviva is looking for “third-party occupiers” for offices that will be closed.

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