German Amazon Workers Can Apply To Work From Home Despite Company’s Global RTO Mandate

Leaked documents have suggested that Amazon workers in Germany will be allowed to request working-from-home arrangements for up to two days a week.

As with many companies, work-from-home arrangements became common at Amazon during the Covid 19 pandemic lockdowns. However, in September Amazon announced its RTO (Return To Office) mandate, a plan to shift its global workforce back into the office full-time.

World’s Largest Startup?

From 2 January 2025, all global employees are expected back in the office five days a week. The changes were announced in September, with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy saying at the time ‘The advantages of being together in the office are significant.’

Jassy said his aim was for Amazon to ‘operate like the world’s largest startup’.

In a letter to staff, he said, ‘That means having a passion for constantly inventing for customers, strong urgency (for most big opportunities, it’s a race!), high ownership, fast decision-making, scrappiness and frugality, deeply connected collaboration (you need to be joined at the hip with your teammates when inventing and solving hard problems), and a shared commitment to each other.’

The German Memo

Business Insider has reported on a leaked memo it has seen, that suggests Amazon employees in Germany will be able to apply to work from home for one day a week, or two in exceptional circumstances.

Should permission be given, the arrangement would only be valid for one year. The policy applies to all Amazon workers in Germany, with the exception of those at Twitch or Audible.

The document makes a distinction between formal and informal arrangements. Formally, workers are able to request up to two days working from home and a change in their official hours.

By contrast, informal arrangements can be made with managers as long as 24 hours’ notice is given of the intent to work from home. However, any such arrangement can be changed by Amazon at any time.

British Unions Divided Over Amazon

In Britain, Amazon’s working practices have received mixed reviews from trades unions.

The Workers Union, which bills itself as a non-political union (i.e. one not affiliated with the governing Labour Party), welcomed Amazon’s announcement of returning staff to the office, saying, ‘We believe Amazon’s decision to bring staff back to the office, especially with their recent AWS [Amazon Web Services] £8bn investment in UK jobs for technology arm is another example of how the company continues to set high standards for employee retention, welfare and productivity.’

The union also said, ‘Amazon has built a reputation as a top employer, offering benefits that many other companies have struggled to match.’

However, the GMB union, which is affiliated to Labour, takes a different view. In September GMB took issue with the government awarding over a billion pounds in contracts to Amazon.

Gary Smith, general secretary of GMB, said, ‘The Government needs to be absolutely clear with Amazon – if they want to keep trousering hundreds of millions of taxpayer cash, they need to treat workers with respect.

‘That means proper pay, ending the punishing workloads and surveillance which makes staff sick and listening to workers’ voices through their union, the GMB.’