Employees will no longer be told by the government to work from home from 19 July, when most pandemic restrictions in England are due to be lifted. Boris Johnson said it would not be necessary to instruct people to stay away from the office as Covid-19 controls are relaxed, in a move he said would allow employers to start planning for a safe return to workplaces. However, business and union leaders said they still required clarity from the government about keeping staff and customers safe after the lifting of most controls. The changes include an end to mandatory wearing of face masks, physical distancing, limits on gatherings indoors, and scanning of QR codes when entering venues. Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of trade union body the TUC, said: “Ministers must consult with unions and employers on clear and consistent guidance for workplace safety after the end of restrictions, in every type of workplace. Otherwise we risk widespread confusion.” Tony Danker, the chief executive of the business lobby group the CBI, said: “Businesses welcome the reopening, which will provide huge relief for many firms who have struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic. “Critical now will be to build both customer and employee confidence in living with the virus. This will require businesses to continue putting safety at the heart of their approach, as they have since the start of the Covid crisis, and government providing a vital role in supporting employers through guidance and advice.” The announcement on home working came as the Bank of England said on Monday it would require staff to work only one day a week in the office from September, in contrast to many City banks that will expect workers to commute every day to the Square Mile. A senior central bank official said the central bank would trial “hybrid” working that would allow people working from home to participate in meetings at its Threadneedle Street offices. Some business leaders had been encouraging the government to take a bolder stance by issuing a rallying cry for staff to return to offices, with the hope it would boost the virus-stricken urban economy after more of a year of remote working for many firms reduced footfall in town and city centres. Most people did not work from home during the pandemic, according to official figures, with just 37% of the working population doing so last year, a relatively small rise from 27% in 2019. The numbers of people working from home were however far higher in London and south-east England, in IT and professional jobs, and in higher-paid roles. Shevaun Haviland, the director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said the government needed to issue more detailed guidelines about how it expects firms to operate without legal pandemic restrictions in place. “There could be real uncertainty on how they should operate going forward and what they should be doing to keep staff and their customers safe,” she said. “This could lead to a fractured, patchwork approach with very different positions being taken by many businesses, across many locations. That, in turn, could severely undermine the public’s trust in reopening.” However, company bosses broadly welcomed the prime minister’s announcement, with hospitality leaders saying they would celebrate the end of most restrictions in England. Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of UK Hospitality, said it would be a “long road back” to financial strength for businesses that had taken on debt just to survive during the pandemic. “Nevertheless, this is a critical move that will unleash a sector that is eager to play its part in the wider national recovery, to repay the support afforded it by the government.”