The new Business Secretary has backed remote working, saying it is good for the economy because people are more productive when they are ‘happy at home’.
Jonathan Reynolds said he was happy for staff in the Department for Business and Trade he leads to work from ‘in any part of the UK’ where it is possible.
His remarks further signalled the new government’s U-turn from the previous Tory administration’s attempts to get workers back to the office.
The previous government told officials to spend at least 60 per cent of their time – the equivalent of three days in a week – in the office.
But speaking to the Sunday Telegraph today Mr Reynolds said: ‘You do your best work when you’re happy at home and when you’re happy at work, you’re happy at home.
Jonathan Reynolds said he was happy for staff in the Department for Business and Trade he leads to work from ‘in any part of the UK’ where it is possible.
The previous government told officials to spend at least 60 per cent of their time – the equivalent of three days in a week – in the office.
‘For this department, which employs nearly 8,000 people, I want it to be a department where people can, as much as possible, live in any part of the UK and work for it.
‘It’s a UK-wide department with an international remit, but also one that is UK-wide. I think it’s incredibly important.
‘Sometimes, I’ve got people in the room, sometimes I’ve got people at home. Sometimes I’ve got people in many of the different offices that we have – I often have people who are in completely different time zones. I think being open to that kind of talent makes the organisation I lead far more effective. I think a lot of business leaders recognise that.
‘Look at the UK compared to other European countries – we do have a very pronounced regional inequality housing market that’s very different in different parts of the UK. So where businesses can be open to UK-wide talent and have the opportunity to access that talent, I think that’s got to be a good thing.’
Last month Cabinet ministers backed civil servants working from home in a green light for ‘WFH Whitehall’ – as Home Office bosses struggle to get staff to come in even two days a week.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told staff they support ‘flexible working’.
Their comments have been interpreted by civil servants as a ‘relaxation’ of the drive to force them back to the office.
Meanwhile the team at the Home Office tasked with tackling illegal migrants is struggling to impose its own attendance policy.
In an email leaked to The Mail on Sunday, a senior official told the Immigration Enforcement unit that too many of them are failing to comply with the ‘minimum’ attendance policy of two days a week – and those who ignore the ’40 per cent’ rule from this month onwards would be penalised.
Civil servants faced heavy criticism for continuing to work from home after the pandemic and the last Government tried to force thousands back to the office.
Former Cabinet Office minister Jacob Rees-Mogg famously left notes on officials’ desks when they worked from home saying he was sorry to have missed them.
Fears have been raised that Labour is plotting to rush through new workers’ rights without a debate or vote in Parliament.
Under the biggest reform of employment rights in a generation, staff will be able to demand flexible hours from their first day in a new job and win the ‘right to switch off’ outside office hours.
The plans have alarmed business leaders and prompted predictions of a flood of tribunal cases brought by employees refused permission to work a four-day week.
