London, Apr 20 (IANS): As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic-related restrictions, 43 per cent of the residents of London worked from home in 2020, up from 31 per cent in 2019, the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

London and surrounding areas had the highest rates of working from home in 2020, with many areas in Scotland and Northern Ireland having the lowest, Xinhua news agency quoted the ONS as saying on Monday.

One of the reasons London had the highest rates of homeworking was because of the types of industries that predominate the city, it added.

However, people who mainly worked from home were less than half as likely to be promoted than all other workers between 2012 and 2017 and were around 38 per cent less likely on average to have received a bonus compared with those who never worked from home between 2013 and 2020, said the ONS.

"Rewards for homeworking were typically less for those who exclusively worked from home, being on average paid less, less likely to get a bonus, less likely to get promoted, and less likely to receive training," said the ONS.

Meanwhile, the unprecedented increase in homeworking in 2020, driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, has led many to consider the implications for this on productivity, and other labour market related outcomes, the Office added.