Three Days in the Office. All Seven of Them.

The latest return-to-office announcements have one thing in common: each says it offers clarity. After that, the profession diverges quite sharply.

We have examined three policies and spoken to several people now less certain where they work.

Bellwether Voss: the surprise-visit model

Bellwether Voss has rejected fixed attendance days on the grounds that knowing when to be somewhere encourages a transactional attitude towards presence.

Its new platform, Hereish, generates personalised office windows. One associate's first week requires attendance on Monday from 06:12 to 08:03, Wednesday from 14:41 to 15:09, and Friday from 19:17 until 22:06.

“Spontaneous collaboration cannot happen if everybody plans it,” explained the firm's Head of Presence.

Schedules are released late on Sunday and may change if a partner develops an instinct.

Associates must remain available outside their windows, but cannot count time spent in the office outside their windows towards attendance. A lawyer who worked until midnight on Tuesday has been marked absent for Wednesday because she left before Wednesday's presence began.

Hereish has asked whether she would like to share this achievement professionally.

The firm says the policy reflects how senior lawyers actually work. Senior lawyers are exempt.

Wetherby Dodd: the generous window

Wetherby Dodd has opted for a simpler arrangement. Staff arrive at 06:30 on Monday and may leave at 22:00 on Friday.

The Super Sister says the continuous-presence model offers significantly greater flexibility than five separate office days because staff need make only one journey in each direction.

A partner who helped design the policy has called this “a real win for working families”. His family is on holiday and he will join them once he has finished announcing it.

The firm has introduced sleeping facilities, although booking a pod requires confirmation that no partner needs it to store luggage.

Lunch remains available between 12:00 and 12:08. Staff unable to attend may look at a photograph of the salad bar on the intranet. The photograph shows how seriously the firm takes nutrition.

The night porter has become the most accessible senior colleague. Three associates have nominated him as a mentor. HR is reviewing whether his lack of a legal qualification outweighs the fact that he answers their questions.

Weekend working remains remote, demonstrating that the firm has listened.

Hargreaves Crake: principles, not rules

Hargreaves Crake has published a more nuanced policy. We reproduce the relevant clarifications below.

How many days must I attend?

Three. Tuesday is an anchor day. Thursday is a mandatory flexible day. Your third day may be any day that does not reduce the collective value of the first two.

Can I choose Monday?

Monday is a focus-from-home day. Attendance on a focus-from-home day does not count as attendance, although you are welcome to attend.

Wednesday?

Wednesday is the team-led day. Your team has chosen to work remotely. You must support the team's choice from the office.

Does that count?

Not towards individual presence. It counts towards collective connection.

Friday?

Friday is discretionary. Discretionary attendance cannot satisfy a compulsory requirement, as that would remove the discretion.

What should I do, then?

Please exercise professional judgement. Compliance will be assessed automatically.

Who wrote this?

The policy was developed through extensive consultation with the partners, each of whom secured the exception most important to him.

We contacted Hargreaves Crake for a worked example of a compliant week. The HR director asked if we had one.

At the time of writing, Hereish had marked the entire office absent, including an associate who was visibly asleep underneath the badge reader.