Thousands of council staff have been allowed to work from abroad since the pandemic, with some working remotely for years. Critics condemn the practice as 'horrifying' and call for government intervention.
Council staff have been allowed to work from abroad more than 2,000 times since the pandemic. Town hall bosses approved at least 731 staff requests to work from abroad in 2023 – with one council worker logging in from Ibiza for four years. There were 440 approvals the year after the Covid pandemic and 708 in 2022, before rising again to 731 last year. A further 226 requests were granted in the first few months of 2024.
Critics branded the figures ‘horrifying’ and called on the Government to order a crackdown amid plummeting public sector productivity and town-hall plans to hike council taxes next year. But Labour ministers refused to condemn them, saying it was a matter for councils. Town halls doubled down tonight, insisting they can still monitor employees’ performance from abroad and that offering the perk was crucial for hiring and retaining staff in ‘a competitive recruitment market’. Many of the destinations staff have been allowed to work from – such as Barbados and Australia – have time zones vastly different to the UK, raising concerns about whether staff can do their jobs properly and promptly respond to emails and telephone calls. The real figures are likely to be much higher as many councils failed or refused to answer Freedom of Information requests. A woman sat on a sunny beach working on her laptop (stock image). Council staff have been allowed to ‘work from the beach’ more than 2,000 times since the pandemic Derby City Council (pictured) approved someone working from France for 74 days and New Zealand for 42 days Sandwell Council (pictured) in Birmingham is one council which allowed staff to work from abroad The Tories’ local government spokesman, Kevin Hollinrake, said: ‘It’s shocking that Labour won’t condemn this for what it is. ‘But it is unsurprising given Angela Rayner is committed to ideological experiments like full-time pay for part-time work and French-style union laws that will wreck our econom
Council Staff Remote Work Productivity Tax Hikes Government Intervention
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