The public pay you... get back to the office, civil servants are told
BORIS Johnson has backed a drive by Cabinet ministers to order civil servants to return to theirWhitehall desks.
Downing Street officials yesterday indicated the Prime Minister fully supported his colleague Jacob ReesMogg’s demand for Government staff to spend more time in the office and less working from home.
Mr Rees-Mogg, the Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, wrote to fellow ministers earlier this week to raise concerns about low levels of attendance at departmental headquarters.
Months after the Covid work-fromhome guidance was dropped, figures showed office attendance in Whitehall buildings as low as 25 per cent.
Officials acknowledged there was not enough desk space for all civil servants to be in the office permanently.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “It is important we make best use of taxpayer-funded departments which are not returning to the levels we saw before the pandemic.”
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis also supported the back-to-the-office order.
He said: “There’s something different about that face-to-face interaction… but there’s also the issue, particularly for new staff and younger staff, about being able to become part of a team and get to know their colleagues.
“That doesn’t work in a virtual world.
“You need to be in an office to learn from others, to work with others and get to know each other.”
Unions reacted angrily to Mr ReesMogg’s demands.
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA civil service union, branded the move “vindictive” and out of step with practice in the private sector.
He said: “There is no rationale for this…Jacob Rees-Mogg is the Minister for Government Efficiency, yet that isn’t even a consideration in his correspondence with ministers. The private sector has embraced hybrid working, recognising the efficiencies it delivers and competitive edge it gives to employers.
“Meanwhile, the Luddites in Cabinet insist on micromanaging the Civil Service, which will only deter good people from joining while demotivating those already there.”