ANZ staff have reportedly been threatened with cuts to their salaries if they work from home too often.

The major bank is demanding staff come into the office on at least 50 per cent of their working days.

The email asks the managers to reprimand their direct reports if they failed to meet the 50 per cent requirement.

Consequences in the form of pay cuts would be based on the staff member’s level of non-attendance in the office, the email reportedly said.

Staff members with an attendance record of less than 20 per cent will not be eligible for an increase in their salary without a valid exemption from their manager.

Those coming to the office between 21 per cent and 40 per cent of the time could have their “variable pay” cut by up to half, depending on their seniority and unless they have been given an exemption. 

Staff only in the office 41 per cent and 49 per cent of their working hours will not face any consequences, but managers have been asked to assess why the employee did not meet the 50 per cent requirement.

A spokesperson for ANZ told 9news.com.au that its hybrid work policy had been in place for a number of years.

“Our hybrid working expectation is that our people spend at least 50% of their scheduled work time in an ANZ workplace, with the flexibility to work the other half of their time remotely – whether that’s from home or elsewhere,” the spokesperson said.

“Our hybrid working expectation has been made clear to our employees, including potential impact on future remuneration if employees don’t have an appropriate exception.”

The latest ANZ messaging comes in the same week the bank made an embarrassing email blunder, accidentally informing some staff members who were to be made redundant about the process for returning their laptops before they had even been told they were losing their jobs.

Swinburne law and corporate governance expert Helen Bird said the regrettable email bungle needed to be seen in the context of larger restructuring work occurring at the bank, under the direction of new CEO Nuno Matos, who stepped into the role in July. 

“Every new CEO wants to put their stamp on a business.  It is not uncommon for changes to occur in the C-Suite & higher management in consequence of that,” she said. 

“However, these events illustrate a particular degree of ruthlessness and speed in the execution of such changes. In consequence of that approach, mistakes take on a higher degree of impact and fall out when they occur.” 

While the bank has apologised for its mistake, Bird said it will take a lot more to cauterise the wound caused to affected staff and the remaining workforce.