The big Dutch banks are bringing in new guidelines to get staff back to the office more often, after years of encouraging working from home. The shift is causing discontent among employees, who fear overcrowded offices and a breach of their collective labour agreements, the Financieele Dagblad said on Thursday.

ING has proposed a new rule requiring staff to be in the office at least two days a week, with one of those days falling on Monday, Wednesday or Friday. The plan was submitted to the works council last week for advice.

Managers at ABN Amro have also told team members they must now be in the office at least two days a week, the paper said.

Employees at both banks say they face shortages of parking spaces, meeting rooms and quiet work areas, particularly on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Unions FNV and De Unie said they had received similar complaints from members.

Many staff at ING currently work from the office no more than once a week, but the bank now wants to see 100% of employees meet the two-day target.

“The physical presence of staff improves collaboration, strengthens connection with the company, stimulates creativity and helps new employees to settle in,” a spokesman told the FD.

ABN Amro recruited many new staff during the coronavirus pandemic with promises of flexible working. Its recruitment site still states that employees can largely choose “where and when you open your laptop.” Unions argue that forcing office attendance breaches the bank’s CAO.

Rabobank is not mandating more office time but is trying to spread attendance more evenly through the week, offering free Friday lunches at its main offices in Rotterdam and Utrecht as an experiment, the paper said.

Last August, data company Wolters Kluwer has said staff must come to the office for a minimum number of days a week from September, in an effort to “improve the balance” between “flexibility for the worker” and “collaboration and strength in innovation”.

Just Eat Takeaway and law firms Stibbe and Houthoff also introduced compulsory office hours last year, while insurance groups ASR and NN said they recommend staff come to the office two days a week.