UK government ‘must reconcile office working policy with plans to reduce office space’
The UK government has been urged to keep its office attendance mandate under review by parliamentarians who said there may be a conflict between the plan and policies to reduce the size of the government estate.
A committee of the House of Lords examined the impact of working from home across the economy, which has been transformed into a mainstream practice since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report concluded that hybrid working can be the “best of both worlds” compared to fully remote or in-person work, but only if done well.
It found there is no single answer to whether working from home is more productive than office-based work, but added that working from home could get people back into work.
Peers found that many return-to-office mandates amount to formalising hybrid working, rather than a return to full-time office attendance, and in particular examined the development of the UK government’s 60% office attendance mandate.
The former Conservative government set the policy following the COVID-19 pandemic that most civil servants are expected to spend at least 60% of their working time at a government building or on official business (usually equating to three days a week), increasing to “more than 60%” for senior managers. Following the July 2024 election when Labour took power, the party reaffirmed the 60% office attendance mandate.
‘One-size-fits-all’ policy questioned
However, the implementation of a “one-size-fits-all” mandate has been queried by civil service trade unions.
A poll of civil servants by the FDA trade union in March found that a majority of UK civil servants say the government’s efforts to get them to work in departmental offices three times a week has not been beneficial to their work.
A majority (78%) of the more than 7,000 respondents – half of whom were line managers – responded that the mandate has not been beneficial, although a majority of respondents (69%) agreed that in-person working can bolster better relationship building and networking, and 59% also agree that it can help create a stronger sense of community and belonging.
In the report, peers highlighted that the government policy of working to reduce the size of the government office estate could be in conflict with continuing the three-day office working mandate.
The government also aims to close 11 London office buildings as part of a wider plan to relocate civil service jobs out of the capital.
Peers said that the government “should continue reviewing the relationship between its 60% office attendance mandate for civil servants and its other policies, particularly reductions in the size of its office estate”.
They added: “These policies may conflict with one another, and if they cannot be reconciled, the government may need to decide which it wants to prioritise.”
Read more: Over three-quarters of UK civil servants say government’s office attendance mandate has failed
Current policy ‘not getting the best out of civil servants’
Responding to the report, FDA assistant general secretary Lauren Crowley said it provides “further evidence that top-down, one-size-fits-all mandates across hundreds of employers will not get the best out of civil servants”.
She said the report built on the FDA research, and provided “yet more reasons to review their blanket mandate”.
She added: “The government has collected no evidence about how the 60% mandate is working for staff since it was implemented – it’s been over two years and they have never established it working. The government now needs to work with unions to design an evidence-led approach to office working, in order to deliver the best results for public services.”
Read more: Canada’s ‘back-to-the-office’ mandate for public servants takes effect
Government urged to help develop flexible working best practice
In its report, the House of Lords committee said that the government should “lead by example” by setting out good hybrid working practices within the civil service. In particular, it should focus on ensuring that in-person attendance achieves collaborative benefits.
Examples could include the use of “anchor days” to bring all members of a team together in the office at the same time, and ensuring their offices are designed with adequate spaces for meetings. And, as government jobs are moved out of London, the government must think about the “organisation and design” of government offices.
Peers also said that government could help to develop a best practice guide to hybrid and remote work.
“We have asked the government to consider how it can involve stakeholders in the development of such guidance, including by setting out its views on reconvening the Flexible Working Taskforce, which previously produced guidance on home working,” the report concluded.
“The government should also promote existing sources of guidance, including from the Health and Safety Executive, the National Cyber Security Centre, and the British Standards Institution. It should also set an example by ensuring its own policies for hybrid working in the civil service are internally consistent and in line with best practice.”
Crowley said anchor days are widely supported by civil servants as “you are not coming in just to sit on Teams calls with a team that is spread out across the country, but you have designed work so that you come together and collaborate and work together in person”.
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