Get back to office or face sack
Rees-Mogg’s broadside to civil servants still WFH
CIVIL servants who refuse to return to the office risk losing their jobs, the Minister in charge of reversing the ‘work from home’ culture declares today.
Jacob Rees-Mogg has set his sights on the legion of Whitehall employees who are based in London – where they are rewarded with higher salaries to offset the high costs of living in the capital.
His call to get back to the office will also have implications for the thousands of UK Government civil servants working in Scotland.
Writing in today’s Mail on Sunday, he states that ‘if people are not back in their office it will be fair to assume that the job does not need to be in London’ – an implied threat to swap their jobs for lower paid positions elsewhere in the country or axe them altogether.
Public sector workers in the capital can claim extra pay in the form of a London weighting allowance.
It comes as Mr Rees-Mogg, the Brexit Opportunities Minister who also has Government Efficiency as part of his brief, has started to personally visit Whitehall offices to assess the occupancy levels.
Downing Street is determined to drag Britain out of its post-Covid economic malaise by forcing commuters out of their home offices and back into city centres, with the civil service leading by example.
In his article for this newspaper, Mr Rees-Mogg says that ‘parts of the public sector seem to act as if it is still in lockdown’, with ‘vast central London offices sitting empty’ and ‘the civil service...as large as it has been for many years’.
Mr Rees-Mogg says: ‘This is a bad deal for taxpayers as expensive property which could be given up... lies empty; and a London weighting is paid to people who are not working in London and are claiming they do not need to be in London.
‘Instead of being able to pop into someone’s office for a quick word, it has added an extra layer of bureaucracy. Every interaction has to be “diarised”, internet connections repaired and callers taken off mute. The informal chat has all but disappeared.’
He adds: ‘The Government is committed to reducing the number of civil servants but there are 91,000 more than 2015-16.
‘This necessarily means a smaller but better-used government estate in the heart of Whitehall.
‘Essentially, if people are not back in their office it will be fair to assume that the job does not need to be in London.’ There are 24,000 UK Government civil servants working north of the Border, according to the most recent publication in June 2020.
They generally work for the Department for Work and Pensions, HMRC, and the Ministry of Defence, as well as the Scotland Office.
Mr Rees-Mogg’s call will also increase pressure on the Scottish Government to take a harder line with the devolved civil service – a
further 21,400 workers. Yesterday it was revealed that Mr Rees-Mogg has been leaving notes on vacant desks in Whitehall, complete with an official government crest, saying: ‘Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon.
‘With every good wish, Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP.’
Dave Penman, head of the First Division Association civil servants union, criticised the messages as part of a ‘culture war’, saying: ‘These notes from JRM are not only condescending, crass and insulting, they completely undermine the leadership of the service.’
Last week, Mr Rees-Mogg published a league table of government departments based on how many staff are present and wrote to all secretaries of state to say they must send a ‘clear message to civil servants in your department to ensure a rapid return to the office’.
In his Mail on Sunday article, Mr Rees-Mogg highlights the problems with issues such as replacement passports and driving licences that are caused by home-working, which he describes as ‘people using the cover of working from home to refuse to do their taxpayerfunded jobs’.