Ministers resist move by civil servants to 'work from the beach'

2023-07-09

Ministers resist move by civil servants to ‘work from the beach’ as staff demand the right to carry out their jobs from overseas

Union claimed policy would benefit ‘professional performance and personal life’

Civil servants are demanding the right to carry out their jobs from overseas – but ministers are resisting the move to ‘work from beach’.

The trade union for senior Whitehall officials has claimed that developing policies and taking part in meetings while in another country would benefit their ‘professional performance and personal life’.

Delegates at the FDA’s recent annual conference argued that ‘many civil servants have strong connections to countries other than the UK, whether through nationality, family, or other personal ties, and that they may occasionally wish to work while overseas’.

A motion claimed that many departments ‘relaxed policy requirements for civil servants carrying IT equipment and working in other countries’ during the Covid-19 pandemic and regretted the fact that these rules have since been tightened up again.

FDA members voted for its leaders to ‘work with departments, agencies and public bodies to assess how to enable and regulate overseas working across the civil service, with the aim of implementing consistent and legible policies that strike a balance between increased flexibility and reasonable limits’.

They urged the union’s Executive Committee to ‘advocate for arrangements allowing civil servants to work from countries other than the UK occasionally, and for the benefits that this may bring to their professional performance and personal life’.

READ MORE: Brits work from the beach as more than one in three firms say they now allow their staff to log in remotely from abroad

Their demands may have been inspired by the former permanent secretary at the Treasury, Sir Tom Scholar, who was permitted to spend months at a time working from South America where his family had moved.

And it emerged last week that even private companies are relaxed about staff logging on from their sun loungers, after working from home became the norm during lockdown.

A survey by accountancy firm RSM UK found that as many as 33 per cent of businesses now allow working from abroad. But the civil servants’ hopes are to be dashed by the Government, which has indicated it will not entertain the possibility.

A source told the Mail: ‘Ministers are clear that civil servants shouldn’t be sunning themselves abroad on the taxpayers’ dime but focusing on delivering for the country.’

Departmental policies obtained by The Mail also show that staff have been warned they can only work from abroad in exceptional circumstances – and for short periods of time.

It emerged last week that even private companies are relaxed about staff logging on from their sun loungers, after working from home became the norm during lockdown

The Department for Transport’s ‘working remotely overseas policy’ states: ‘Employees are appointed to UK Civil Service roles on the understanding that they will be UK based unless the role requires official travel or a temporary posting overseas.’

For staff in the Work and Pensions Department, ‘it is not permitted to work from home overseas (i.e. outside Great Britain) for personal reasons.’

And a Government spokesman said: ‘Only in exceptional circumstances can individuals be given the flexibility to work overseas for a short period of time.’

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