Working from home is not great for diplomacy

FOREIGN embassies in London have warned that “stay at home” civil servants are harming Britain’s diplomatic efforts.

Many Whitehall workers still only venture in to their offices two days a week, even though much of the nation has already returned to normal working.

The Sunday Express understands the issue is causing concern for new Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, whose efforts to build the Global Britain brand are being hampered.

One senior diplomat posted to the UK said: “The problem we have is that it is still very hard to organise face-to-face meetings.

“They have begun again but a lot of [civil servants] are working from home and doing meetings by Zoom.

It is hard to build up the relationships you need to get things done.

“A lot of the best work is in the informal conversations on the fringes of meetings and you just don’t have those when meetings take place over Zoom.”

Another diplomat from a different embassy said: “Things have started to get better, especially after last year.

“We are struggling though to hold faceto-face meetings, and video conferences are not a satisfactory substitute. It’s a problem.”

The issue has been exacerbated by the changeover of embassy staff that took place last year.

Most of the ambassadors in the UK changed in 2020, along with other diplomatic staff. This means Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office staff have had to start afresh with building relationships.

A source close to Ms Truss said they were not aware of complaints from embassies, but added: “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

It comes after Cabinet Secretary Simon Case told departments to order as many civil servants as is safely possible back to offices.

But trade unions representing the government staff have been resisting calls for them to return.

FDA general secretary David Penman has claimed it is logistically unworkable even after most of his members had the Covid vaccine.

He said: “Civil servants are furious at the hypocrisy of the continued attacks on home working from anonymous ministers, who know full well that hybrid working arrangements are critical to delivering the Government’s own Places for Growth strategy, a key plank of the levelling up agenda.”

Unions are pressing for a hybrid working solution where most members in effect work from home.