The Welsh government has been criticised over its hybrid working policy as it has been reported that only one in 10 Welsh government staff are working in the office every day.
The Welsh Conservative party leader Andrew RT Davies said it was “concerning just how few civil servants are in the office to ensure the smooth running of government operations in Wales”.
Office space has been offered to other public sector workers by the Welsh government at its 10 main facilities. It said its vision is to “maximise the benefits of office, remote and hybrid working”. The government’s aim is to have 30% of the Welsh workforce working at or near to home by 2026.
But Welsh Conservatives said the majority of Welsh civil servants should not be working from home. Davies asked whether entire floors of buildings were being heated for one just one or two workers, adding: “I don’t believe working from home should form the basis of standard working patterns for the majority of civil servants. We have exceptional facilities for our public servants to work in. If they are not being used, where is the value for money for the taxpayer?”
The strategy of the Welsh government – minority led by Labour – is to become an “exemplar” for remote working with “no more than 50%” of civil servants working in one of its offices at a time.
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In September, 10.4% of staff attended the various Welsh government offices on a daily basis with 549 out of 5,200 workers going to the office every day.
Attendance was highest in the Caernarfon office (13.8%) and lowest in Merthyr Tydfil (5.9%).
Gareth Hills, national officer of the civil service union FDA Cymru Wales, told the BBC that the current number of staff working from home showed that the pandemic had changed the world of work permanently.
He added: “We’re seeing increased hybrid working and that can allow for even more savings for the taxpayer as less office space is needed.” There was also a benefit in that government jobs were now available for people in rural areas, away from the country’s main towns and cities.
Last week, the Welsh government announced it was to close its office in Colwyn Bay with staff relocating to the Welsh government offices in Llandudno Junction.
Plaid Cymru’s Llyr Gruffydd said hybrid working should be retained but it was important for the Welsh government to come up with plans for to share offices as soon as possible, “so that the relevant scrutiny can happen, and value for money can be verified”.
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The Welsh government said its vision was to “maximise the benefits of office, remote and hybrid working for our people and organisation.”
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