Revolut will require hundreds of graduates and interns to work in the office at least three days a week from 2027, marking a shift from its longstanding remote-first policy that has been a key recruitment tool for the digital bank.
Policy change for junior trainees
The London-headquartered fintech company previously allowed young trainees to choose between working from home or Revolut's offices, mirroring flexible arrangements for all staff. That included the option to work abroad for up to 120 days per year, with the company stating it trusts employees to "explore new cultures while staying productive and connected."
However, Revolut is changing those rules for its 2027 cohort of graduates and interns, citing recognition that "the early stages of a career benefit from in-person collaboration and mentoring." New hires will be employed on a hybrid basis and required to work in a Revolut office at least three days a week. This will affect hundreds of junior trainees, as Revolut hired more than 300 graduates and interns this year.
No broader rollback
Revolut said this is not the beginning of a rollback of flexible benefits for its wider 11,000-strong global workforce, most of whom are based at its new headquarters in London's Canary Wharf. The remote-first policy allows employees to work entirely from home year-round if they choose. Revolut, which has 13 million customers in the UK and was valued at $75 billion (£55 billion) last year, said in a statement: "Revolut operates a remote-first model across the world. We also recognise that the early stages of a career benefit from in-person collaboration and mentoring, so all intern and graduate roles in our 2027 talent programmes are hybrid, with successful candidates expected in the office at least three days a week. This applies to the 2027 talent programmes only. For all other employees, our remote-first policy is unchanged."
Expert perspective
Sally Hall, a senior consultant at employment law firm Bellevue Law, commented: "From someone that has spent a huge amount of my professional career working remotely, I can totally understand the need to bring graduates in. The best way to learn is to be a sponge and working remotely makes this so much more challenging. However, the senior people need to be in the office, too, or there is nothing to absorb."
Alignment with industry
The company, which secured a full UK banking licence earlier this year after an unusual five-year wait, said successful graduates hired on full-time contracts would benefit from the remote-first policy like the rest of the workforce, including the work-from-abroad option, once they pass probation. The decision, first reported by the Financial Times, brings Revolut more in line with other large banks that tightened work-from-home policies after the Covid pandemic, particularly for younger staff. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon told Bloomberg last year: "It is an apprenticeship system … you can't learn working from your basement."
