Return-to-Office Mandates Pressure HR and FM Teams

A growing number of organisations are rolling out return-to-office mandates, requiring employees to spend a minimum number of days per week on-site. The shift is creating fresh challenges for HR and FM teams, who must coordinate desk booking, building services, catering and—crucially—car parking and travel. After several years of reduced occupancy, many workplaces no longer have the capacity or systems to support pre-pandemic commuting patterns, and the mismatch is causing friction and cost.

For businesses that provide pool cars, manage grey-fleet mileage or reimburse business travel, the return to the office changes the equation. Commuting itself is not a business expense, but mixed-use journeys, client visits and inter-site travel are all on the rise. Fleet managers need to understand who is travelling, how often and by what means—especially if employees are using private cars for business purposes without adequate insurance or mileage capture. Meanwhile, on-site parking constraints can drive demand for salary-sacrifice car schemes and cycle-to-work programmes.

Practical steps include auditing current travel patterns, reviewing grey-fleet and cash-for-car-allowance policies, and ensuring your telematics or mileage systems distinguish private from business use. If you're adding pool vehicles or adjusting your company-car list to suit hybrid working, now is the time to model the costs and tax implications. Consider how parking availability, charging infrastructure and flexible benefits can support both compliance and employee satisfaction.

Bluepoppy helps SMEs and service businesses navigate the new world of hybrid work and fleet provision. From cost-effective pool-car solutions to EV salary sacrifice and connected data that separates business from private mileage, we tailor fleet packages to the way your people actually work. Talk to us about a Fleet Cost Review that reflects your current headcount and travel patterns.

Bluepoppy view: Hybrid work changes who drives what and when—make sure your fleet policy keeps pace.

Source: i-FM — summarised and written from a Bluepoppy perspective. We don’t reproduce the original article.