As part of the firm’s new hybrid way of working, from June onwards, the expectation will be that KPMG’s people spend up to four days in the office spread over a fortnight, with the rest spent at home or at client sites. This plan comes in response to feedback from staff who have said that they would feel comfortable spending most of their time at home.

The firm’s people will attend their KPMG office to work, for meetings or training that need to be held in person, but will not have to stay for the whole day. They will be empowered to manage the rest of their working week virtually from home.

Building on the successes realised in the past year of remote working, the new strategy has been designed in consultation with KPMG’s 16,000 strong workforce and aims to offer greater flexibility and choice. In a recent staff survey undertaken in March, 87% of respondents said they liked not having to commute; 76% enjoyed the greater flexibility working from home offers and 65% felt they now have a better work/life balance.

Jon Holt, chief executive at KPMG UK, said that the Big Four firm had listened to its people and designed its working strategy around its staff and how they can best support their clients.

He said: “We trust our people. Our new way of working will empower them and enable them to design their own working week. The pandemic has proven it’s not about where you work, but how you work.”

The firm has also launched a range of measures to support the wellbeing of its staff. The firm has announced that all UK staff will be given an additional day off on 21 June and allowed an extra 2 and a half hours off every week over the summer, to give people time away from work and to re-energise. Staff can choose whether to take this time back in the morning or afternoon, dependent on what better suits their needs.

The new package of measures forms part of KPMG’s wider investment in hybrid working. Over the course of 2021 the firm will roll out an additional £44m programme of investment to transform its offices into collaborative spaces and invest in new home working technology for staff.

The firm’s planned adoption of hybrid working will see workplaces evolve into space used primarily for collaboration, teamwork and learning.

Jon Holt added: “Our offices will become a place people go to collaborate and learn. The consequence of the pandemic means we have a whole cohort of people who have never been in the office and never been coached face-to-face - we need to get those connections back.

“Our new strategy for the future of work will enable our people to reconnect and test our new ways of hybrid working. This is all about flexibility - we’ll continue to listen to our people and learn as we go.”