Reports have claimed that the government does not enforce rules requiring civil servants spend three days per week at work.
The Times reported that although official guidelines set by the Conservatives were not changed, there is a relaxed attitude towards where employees are employed.
Whitehall sources claim that Labour ministers do little to enforce rules, and have a more “pragmatic” approach to homeworking.
Civil servants with office-based jobs were told in November of last year that they must spend 60% their time face-to-face working with colleagues. Ministers, however, are ignoring these rules and aren’t interested in monitoring work from home.
Jonathan Reynolds, Labour’s business secretary, has said that more flexible work can have “real economic benefits”. He told The Times that flexible working will increase productivity, spread the economic growth throughout the country, and boost employee loyalty.
Civil servants earn and work
He also criticized Sir Jacob Rees Mogg, his predecessor for taking a more strict stance on homeworking, which led him to leave notes on desks that were empty in Whitehall.
He said that the Employment Rights Bill would bring “real economic benefits”, and it will help to raise the level of the country through the default rights for flexible working requests, the right to switch off, and the ability to be able to work at home.
Reynolds and other ministers, including Angela Rayner (deputy prime minister), have told their employees they support flexible working.
The Institute of Directors, the Chartered Management Institute and other business groups have all endorsed Labour’s flexible work policies. They believe that flexibility can help to solve the UK labour shortage.
While the government seems to be more flexible, it appears that some private companies are demanding a greater level of in-person attendance by their employees. A memo sent by Amazon’s CEO on Monday (16 September) told employees they would have to return to work five days per week starting in January 2025.
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