PwC hits back at Lord Sugar 'lazy gits' comment

PwC has hit back at comments by Lord Alan Sugar in which he branded its staff "lazy gits", after the accountancy giant said workers could take Friday afternoons off over summer.

The firm made the offer to its 22,000 UK staff last week on the condition they get their work done by lunchtime.

In a tweet, the Apprentice host and businessman called the move a "joke", saying it would harm productivity.

But PwC said it had worked well in trials.

And individual staff members criticised Lord Sugar for being "out of touch".

In his tweet, the businessman - who made his fortune selling personal computers - cast doubt on how hard people worked when not in the office.

"The lazy gits make me sick," he wrote, referring to PwC's new policy. "Call me old fashioned but all this work from home BS is a total joke."

He added: "There is no way people work as hard or productive as when they had to turn up at a work location. The pandemic has had [a] long lasting negative effect."

Writing on LinkedIn, Richard Osborne, a senior manager at PwC, said Lord Sugar's response was "at best childish and misunderstood".

"Lord Sugar, your post shows how out of touch you are with the modern working world and your lack of knowledge about what PwC are doing," Mr Osborne wrote.

"This isn't about taking time off to be lazy - it is about flexibility to work effectively as and when we work our best."

He added that many workers at PwC were now "far more productive" than than before the pandemic.

Another PwC associate, Omair Qureshi, criticised Lord Sugar on LinkedIn, saying he was "not just old fashioned but also an 80's era leader".

He added that the shift to more flexible working had improved "staff wellbeing and productivity".

PwC said it had decided to extend its summer working hours policy after a pilot in July and August last year, which proved popular with staff.

A spokesperson told the BBC it had received positive feedback following the trial last summer and staff were "being vocal about the merits now".

"Our summer working hours policy is built on two-way flexibility and trust, so that we meet the needs of our teams, our clients and our people," she added.

A shortage of talent has also seen firms trying to compete with each other for workers by offering better pay or perks.

Since the start of the pandemic a debate has raged over who gains and who loses when staff work from home.

Employees save time and money, but employers can also save on office space and costs.

Some argue workers are less productive when unsupervised at home. But others say that without the commute they work longer hours, which often spill over into their evenings and weekends.

Most recently cabinet office minister Jacob Rees-Mogg sparked controversy when he said all civil servants must stop working from home, and left notes on empty desks saying "I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon".