Scottish employees can begin to return to workplaces from next week, after Nicola Sturgeon announced a relaxation of restrictions in the light of falling Covid-19 infections.
Guidance introduced in early December for people to work from home “wherever practical” will be dropped in favour of a phased return to offices.
New guidance will recommend that from Monday 31 January, employers should consider implementing hybrid working, with workers spending some time in the office and some time at home.
The First Minister told MSPs: “We would not expect to see a wholesale return to the office next week – indeed, given that the level of infection though falling remains high, a mass return at this stage is likely to be counterproductive and indeed to set progress back.
“But we know there are many benefits to both employees and employers, and to the economy as a whole, in at least a partial return to the office.”
The leader of the SNP said that Covid case numbers in Scotland had fallen by more than a quarter in the past week, from 10,000 infections per day to an average of just over 7,000.
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She added: “Many businesses successfully implemented hybrid working last autumn, so as part of a phased return to the office, we will again encourage employers to consider hybrid working and look to them to determine how best to manage this transition in consultation with workers and trade unions.”
In response to the Sturgeon’s Covid statement, Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said: “It is vital that we trust people across Scotland to judge what is best for them and their families.
“Yet, the First Minister’s statement says that from the end of January, guidance on working from home will still advise against a wholesale return to the office.
“Some people will still want to work from home, so why doesn’t the First Minister leave that decision up to employers and the workers themselves?”
In England, work from home guidance was dropped last week as Boris Johnson announced a return to “Plan A”.
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In Wales from 28 January, working from home will remain “important” but will not be a legal requirement, while in Northern Ireland the Stormont executive is facing calls to amend its working from home guidance.
