PCS responds to workplace attendance announcement
PCS has reacted with disappointment to the announcement that the 60% minimum workplace attendance requirement will remain in place across the civil service.
According to the Cabinet Office's announcement, “Heads of Department have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. … The approach will allow teams and departments to maximise the benefits of hybrid working and getting the best from being together.”
PCS has long taken the view that the world of work has fundamentally changed, following the Covid-19 pandemic, and that workers should enjoy maximum flexibility and choice over how and where they do their jobs. We continue to seek national negotiations in order to agree a framework governing attendance at workplaces, rather than have this dictated by permanent secretaries.
PCS General Secretary, Fran Heathcote, said:
“This announcement doesn’t sit well with the new world of enhanced rights and freedoms in the workplace promised by the government’s Employment Rights Bill. For most civil service staff, there is no practical reason why they should have to abide by a rigid attendance target.
“We will engage with the government to seek an approach that will provide workers with the greatest possible flexibility in doing their jobs and delivering public services.”