Brazil's Bradesco reaches agreement on remote work with employees

SAO PAULO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Brazilian lender Banco Bradesco SA has reached an agreement with its employees to permanently adopt remote work, the bank's human resources director said.

Under the agreeement, which is supported by the bank employees union, individuals may be assigned to work from home as many days as each worker and Bradesco agree.

Brazil's second largest private-sector lender has nearly 97,000 workers. Currently, 94% of its administrative employees and half of those from branches are working from home.

Bradesco is the first Brazilian top-listed lender to reach such an agreement with employees, in a move that illustrates how the coronavirus pandemic may deeply change work relations.

The Osasco-based lender plans to have employees work from home an average of one week per month permanently, in a move that will allow the bank to save on rent and sell some real estate, Chief Executive Octavio de Lazari Jr. said in August.

The bank will offer an annual stipend of roughly 1,000 reais ($190) to cover consumer bills, such as power and internet, for those employees working more than 50% of their work period remotely. It may also provide chairs.

Besides cost cuts, the bank plans to use remote work to attract workers who are distant from its offices, said human resources director Juliano Marcilio. ($1 = 5.2653 reais) (Reporting by Carolina Mandl; editing by Jonathan Oatis)