'Big Brother-style' change will see civil servant computers monitored for location data
It's part of a crackdown on home-working
Reports have revealed that civil servants will have their computers monitored in a bid to end a "work from home culture".
Civil servants have been told in an official notice that their “compliance” with office working will be checked through their use of the Cabinet Office’s computers. Reports have revealed that computers will be monitored to see whether or not civil servants are attending their Cabinet Office base.
Related articles
Surveillance has been introduced in a bid to boost efficiency after it was discovered that office occupancy has dipped to 42 per cent, Birmingham Live reports, with the Foreign Office's rate even worse - between 30 and 39 per cent.
Discussing the change, Mark Serwotka, boss of the PCS civil service union, said: “This is a worrying Big Brother-style development that we fear could be used to victimise our members.
“We hoped the bogus argument about having to be in the office to do the job had been put to bed following the demonstrable success of our members working efficiently and productively at home during the pandemic.
“So to resurrect it now, at a time when our members are worried about job cuts and the cost-of-living crisis, is an unnecessary provocation.”
The Cabinet Office said last night: “We have been consistently clear that we want to see office attendance across the civil service consistently back at pre-pandemic levels.”
It comes after Jacob Rees-Mogg made unflattering comments about officials not being in the office on this day. He said: “I do worry that the desire to take off Monday and Friday is an indication that people think that the working week is shorter than the reality is.
"One can’t help but be suspicious about the desire to work from home on Mondays and Fridays.”
In another dig, he attacked a trade union that has defended its members over home working. He said: “There’s a hard working ethos in the civil service, unfortunately not represented by their trade union, which seems to want them to be in Tuscany to call into work.”
Departments are expected to work towards “full capacity” in the office, which is defined as a full office rather than all employees in work every day, since most departments now have more staff than desks.
