At least 3,800 civil servants across the UK have permanent work from home (WFH) contracts, according to new figures obtained under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws by The Telegraph. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) alone has 2,400 staff on such contracts, meaning they are never required to attend the office.
Office attendance remains below 60% mandate
Research suggests that civil servants, on average, go into the office fewer than two days a week. Only the recently scrapped Department for Science met the 60% attendance mandate set by the previous Conservative government, which required civil servants to spend at least 60% of their working week at a government building or on official business. The Labour government has maintained this expectation, citing the “clear benefits of face-to-face working”.
However, some civil servants have raised concerns about the mandate. Staff at HM Land Registry have recently voted in favour of strike action, partly in response to the attendance requirements.
ONS attendance at Darlington office averages just 6%
The FOI figures also reveal that, on average, only 6 per cent of Office for National Statistics (ONS) staff attended the existing Darlington office in the last two years. This low attendance has sparked criticism from politicians and raised questions about the effectiveness of regional offices.
Sir Robert Devereux, a former senior civil servant, authored a report on the matter, stating: “The return to working in the office, post-pandemic, was not handled well[...] This needs to be resolved quickly: some recognition of the past poor handling is necessary; but so too is a wider recognition of the benefits of teams spending time together in one place.”
Political reaction and plans for new Darlington campus
Anna Turley, a Labour minister, said in April that the new Darlington Economic Campus (DEC) building would provide a “new and modern home for civil servants in Darlington” and help boost economic growth outside London. The campus is set to host a range of departments, with only a small percentage of staff from ONS, according to an ONS spokesman.
Mike Wood, a senior Conservative MP, criticised the plans, suggesting they could hamper Andy Burnham’s push to relocate public sector jobs out of London. Wood said: “Andy Burnham clearly thinks it’s just a matter of ‘build it and they will come’. But judging by the attendance record at the ONS, double office space will just mean double the amount of wasted taxpayers’ money. For all Labour’s spin, their regional offices are already falling apart. ONS should focus on getting its existing staff to work – wherever their offices are – and improving the worrying quality of its statistics.”
An ONS spokesman responded: “The new Darlington Economic Campus will host a whole range of departments. In fact, only a small percentage of staff set to be based there will be from ONS. The improved facilities the new site offers will allow us to boost office attendance for ONS staff.”
