After confinement, deconfinement and the summer break, companies are preparing for a “rentrée” (return from summer holidays and start of the new school year) still marked by the coronavirus. Who is continuing with teleworking? How frequently? Paperjam asked the 10 largest private employers in the country (according to Statec data from July 2020).
Post Luxembourg (4,650 employees)
“For the start of the school year, we still recommend an office presence of 50% of employees, alternating between teleworking and physical presence,” explains the postal, telecom and banking services company.
A department can have a maximum of 75% of its employees in the office, “provided that the distancing rules allow it”. Department heads have some autonomy to organise the principle of rotation, although the company recommends a weekly frequency. These measures only concern the 60% of people whose positions are suitable for teleworking.
CFL (4,510 employees)
“The situation remains unchanged”, says the Luxembourg National Railway Company (CFL).
A tenth of the workforce is therefore continuing to telework after a gradual return to the office, or half of the 800 people who worked from home during the crisis. “We are monitoring developments day by day and adapting our organisation,” says the group. Yves Baden, director of human resources, is still considering a sustainable post-crisis mechanism. He points out that a significant number of positions require a presence in the field, such as the position of train driver.
Regarding traffic, the group indicates that the frequency of trains has already returned to normal service.
Cactus (4,420 employees)
Nothing new for the Cactus supermarket group this autumn: “Our company is essentially made up of sales occupations that do not lend themselves to telework.”
Dussmann Luxembourg (4,280 employees)
“For us, the return from the summer holiday is already long ago,” explains Angelo Rossi, CEO of the services company, which is active in cleaning, catering, security and laundry. He notes a return to “almost normal” in all activities, which had been strongly affected during confinement. 50% of its employees had been put on short-time work, but they are all back to work today. Nobody teleworks anymore, according to the CEO.
ArcelorMittal (3,900 employees)
At ArcelorMittal, administrative staff (at the head office in Luxembourg City and at the ArcelorMittal Office Building in Esch-sur-Alzette) have the freedom to choose between telework and office, with a maximum of 50% of staff physically present in the office. Except for people at risk or having to take public transport, who must stay at home.
But for the rentrée, “we will study the extension of the physical presence in the workplace to employees using public transport, because no cluster has been identified,” reveals the steel company. “We are keeping the attendance limit at 50%, but it will be up to the team leaders to manage the organisation of their department. We must remain attentive to nurturing a sense of belonging, a team spirit and avoiding isolation.”
No teleworking on industrial production sites, of course. After a summer break, activity should resume “on the same basis as before”.
BGL BNP Paribas (3,830 employees)
A half-return to the office for the employees of BGL BNP Paribas. While about 30% of the workforce has already returned to their offices for several weeks, the figure should be around 50% starting 15 September, with the return to a “split team” structure. “All the teams are going to split in two. They will come back to the office every other week, so that the sub-groups never cross paths”, explains Fabienne Dasnoy, the bank’s head of corporate culture & HR social responsibility in Luxembourg. “The goal is to make sure everyone reconnects with the company and its employees.”
On the other hand, vulnerable people will remain in telework permanently.
Dasnoy is planning a busy “rentrée”, after some delays accumulated in handling several projects because of the health crisis. “This is why we recommended that our employees take a good break during the summer.”
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operation (3,450 employees)
After temporarily closing its Colmar-Berg plant, the tyre company claims to have returned to “almost normal” activity. Most of its staff work on the site, while administrative personnel remain “mostly telework”, with a rotating schedule.
“In addition, for employees who have to come to the office during the week of another group, we have created ‘flex desks’. This is a limited number of offices that can be booked with an internal system by any employee, regardless of their group,” adds a spokesperson for Goodyear in Luxembourg.
Luxair (2,950 employees)
The airline declined to provide any information. In April, its administrative staff were still working remotely.
PWC (2,930 employees)
“The strategy is not changing for the moment, teleworking remains the priority,” says PWC. A quarantine principle is applied for people returning from leave.
Employees continue to telework and can return to the office one or two days a week on a voluntary basis. They must wear a mask when moving around, which they can remove at their workstation. The office occupancy rate remains below 30% at the audit and consulting firm.
Amazon (2,760 employees)
“Employees whose work can be done from home are encouraged to do so until 8 January. We continue to prioritise the health of our employees and follow local government guidelines,” says the Luxembourg unit of the US technology giant. In local offices: deep cleaning, temperature checks at the entrance, and the supply of masks and hydroalcoholic gel to employees.
Drop in public transport use
This rentrée, teleworking therefore remains essential for many. This can be seen in train usage. At the beginning of September, “the total number of travellers, all lines combined, per working day, represents almost a quarter of that recorded over the same period in 2019”, states the CFL.