Sir Chris Wormald has said that the requirement for civil servants to work three days per week is “about right”.
The cabinet secretary said to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee that a requirement of 60% attendance “gives people face-to-face time with their colleagues which is very, very important”.
“We have no plans to alter that policy. I believe we’ve struck a good balance.”
61% civil servants, who are members in the FDA union, said earlier this week that they believed the current attendance requirement of 60% reduced productivity rather than increased it. Three quarters of respondents said that they spend time at the office in virtual meetings.
Wormald conceded that the rule would need to be applied “with a level of common sense”, on a department-by-department basis. He also reacted to criticisms from Prime Minister Keir starmer, that too many Whitehall staff were “comfortable”.
Wormald also agreed that employees would lose their jobs if they failed to meet their goals.
He said: “We expect all civil servants, and indeed public servants in general, to perform their jobs effectively for the money they receive from taxpayers.”
In response to the FDA study, Dave Penman, the general secretary of the union said that the findings showed civil servants opposed a “top down blanket mandate”, rather than officework per se.
Civil servants are looking for hybrid work arrangements that focus on the job they perform, rather than where they are located. They don’t want a policy based on tabloid headlines.
Our survey of more than 7,000 civil servants is a good starting point for an evidence-based, meaningful dialogue that looks forward to the future, rather than clinging on to the past.
Wormald made his comments as private employers tighten their return-to-office requirements: a recent mobile data analysis by Virgin Media and O2 showed that nine out of 10 workers were required to work more days per week.
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