Attendance drive 'irrational'

The drive to push all civil servants to attend a workplace at least 60% of the time is "unnecessary, unreasonable and irrational", Mark Serwotka, PCS civil service union general secretary, has told Cabinet Office minister John Glen.

The union called the latest initiative to increase attendance at workplaces "a slap in the face to many hard-working public sector workers".

It said the government was reneging on promises made during the pandemic to normalise hybrid working in the future. The approach is likely to be discriminatory, will cause further financial problems for workers already struggling with an acute cost-of-living crisis, and will make it difficult to attract staff, it added.

In contrast, the Accord banking union reported that feedback from its members had resulted in a decision by the Lloyds Banking Group personal banking leadership team to "fully recognise the 'remote first' nature of the business".

And a test is underway to get new recruits working from home sooner than the current mandatory three months on site.