Minister wants to slash wages of civil servants who have not returned to the office

Civil servants who refuse to return to the office should be paid less than those back at their desks, a Cabinet minister suggested last night.

The Government has recommended employees make a ‘gradual return’ to offices over the summer after many have spent well over a year working from home because of the pandemic.

But a senior minister told the Mail it was unfair that those still at home should get the same benefits as those commuting in.

A Cabinet minister suggested that civil servants who refuse to return to the office should be paid less than those back at their desks. (Stock image)

‘People who have been working from home aren’t paying their commuting costs so they have had a de facto pay rise, so that is unfair on those who are going into work,’ they said. 

‘If people aren’t going into work, they don’t deserve the terms and conditions they get if they are going into work.’

The minister said people should be ‘keen to get back to normal’, adding that it was difficult to know whether someone at home was working or watching television.

‘I think people who want to get on in life will go into the office because that’s how people are going to succeed,’ they said. 

Whitehall departments are being allowed to decide individually how quickly they want their staff to come back to the office.

The Department of Health and Social Care has reportedly abandoned plans for its civil servants to be back at their desks between four and eight days a month from September.

Meanwhile, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is encouraging its staff to return, something sources said had so far not proven difficult because many are young and keen to be back.

Other departments have accepted flexible working will become ‘the norm’.

It is understood that in discussions about returning to the office, some Whitehall managers have pointed out to civil servants that they receive ‘London weighting’ â€" a salary boost to cover the additional costs of working in the capital.

Tory grandee Sir Iain Duncan Smith said last night: ‘Civil servants need to get off their backsides and into the office and they need to do it pretty quickly.’

Tory grandee Sir Iain Duncan Smith (left) said ‘civil servants need to get off their backsides and into the office’ while skills minister Gillian Keegan (right) admitted just 20 to 25 per cent of staff at the Department for Education were in on any given day

He said there should be an end to home working as a ‘default’ as the office is more creative and ‘fosters better mental health’. 

He added: ‘Managers can’t manage properly, companies aren’t as effective, income goes down â€" go back to the office.’

Sir Iain, a former party leader, also suggested London weighting should be scrapped for home workers. ‘If you’re not travelling anywhere you don’t carry any extra cost,’ he said.

In other developments:

The UK recorded another 27,429 Covid cases, slightly up on a week earlier, along with 39 more deaths; 

Britons holidaying in France face chaos over rules starting today which require Covid vaccination passports to visit everything from bars to the Eiffel Tower; 

The ex-head of Harrow School said boys will suffer most from A-level exams being cancelled this year because many are ‘idle’ unless they have the pressure of a test;

Climate tsar Alok Sharma defended his globetrotting amid anger he escaped hotel quarantine for visiting ‘red list’ countries, saying it was ‘certainly no holiday’.

Many bosses are keen to get their employees back in the office now Covid cases are levelling off and the majority of adults have been double-jabbed.

They believe companies benefit from staff being able to swap ideas face to face, and new recruits are missing out on advice from experienced colleagues. Working from home has had a disastrous effect on town centres, where cafes and shops are hugely reliant on office workers.

Skills minister Gillian Keegan admitted just 20 to 25 per cent of staff at the Department for Education were in on any given day, but added: ‘Quite frankly they are all excited to come back.’

But Dave Penman, of the FDA union which represents senior civil servants, said: ‘Ministers don’t need to create a fake conflict with the civil service over the return to workplaces, where there is none. 

‘The vast majority want hybrid working, with a balance between time in the office and time working from home.’

A Government spokesman said last night: ‘The civil service continues to follow the latest Government guidance, and is gradually and cautiously increasing the number of staff working in the office.’

Source: dailymail

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