Senior civil servants 'encouraged but not mandated' to work in an office more than two days per week
Senior civil servants have been “encouraged” to attend the office for more than two days a week – but cannot be forced to, according to a new policy requiring 40% minimum attendance.
The Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) has introduced a blanket policy, ending individual arrangements which allowed line managers to make decisions about how often staff could work from home.
It is understood some staff were not required to come into the office as little as once a month, if at all.
Timothy Gaston MLA said that the two-day policy “does nothing to reassure the public that the NICS is serious about delivering efficient services” – and reinforces a perception of a system that “exists for the comfort of its staff rather than the service of the people”.
NICS say that hybrid working is subject to business need, and the nature of the job role.
In a copy of the policy, seen by the News Letter, senior civil servants, alongside those on apprenticeships and probationary staff, are “encouraged (but not mandated), to attend the workplace for more than the 40% workplace attendance requirement to maximise the benefits” of face-to-face interaction; to embed a learning culture; build team cohesion; support their wellbeing and help expand their professional networks.
Trade union Nipsa has expressed disappointment at the new policy, but said it has no objection to civil service staff having to work in the office. It said the previous system – whereby individual agreements were made – was working.
Paul Dale, Nipsa vice president, told the BBC’s ‘Nolan Show’ that the current hybrid agreement has “worked very well” for its members.
“Since 2022, people have had agreement with their line managers on when they need to come into the office and when they can work from home. We’ve delivered all the business needs, we’ve supported staff flexibility and it’s been a very positive experience for our members,” he said.
Asked if staff were doing as much work at home, Mr Dale said: “Absolutely … our members are delivering on all their business targets that they’ve been asked to.”
Asked what Nipsa’s objection is to asking staff to go to work in an office, the union’s vice president said: “There’s no objection for people who have to work in the office. The agreement for the last three years has been between the employee and the line manager.”
On the reasoning behind working from home, Mr Dale said “some people prefer to work in the peace and quiet basically, without the distractions of a workplace … Many have worked five days a week in the office, where the business requires it”.
He said a majority of staff prefer to have “some form of hybrid working” and that it should be down to individual managers to make those decisions.
TUV MLA Mr Gaston said: “In most private sector jobs, turning up just two days out of five would be seen as an abuse of the system – yet for the Northern Ireland Civil Service, it is presented as progress.
“The public who fund these jobs expect value for money. That means a proper week’s work for a proper week’s pay – not a civil service culture where the default is working from the kitchen table, popping into the office for a token appearance, and treating physical attendance as the exception rather than the rule.
“Across the private sector, people work five days a week on site or to a clearly agreed schedule that meets the demands of the business. Many small businesses and frontline workers in Northern Ireland have had no choice but to be in their workplace every day, all through the pandemic and beyond.”