Victory as work-shy civil servants finally return to working from office after 2 year row

Nick Ferrari hits out at civil servants ‘wanting to stay in pyjamas’

Work-shy civil servants appear to finally be returning to their offices, after sparking fury with their love of working from home since the end of the pandemic.

New data published by the Government today revealed that the number of civil servants working from their offices has increased dramatically in just two weeks.

In the week beginning April 15, numerous departments saw occupancy rates of 70-80 percent, with three Whitehall HQs even seeing rates of over 90 percent.

According to the new figures, the Cabinet Office came in at pole position, with an impressive 96 percent of staff now working in the building.

The Department for Transport saw 92 percent of bums on seats, while the Ministry of Defence tempted 90 percent of staff into work during a crunch period that saw Britain join the operation that shot down Iranian missiles targeted at Israel.

Civil servants appear to finally be returning to the office (Image: Getty)

Four other departments saw occupancy of over 80 percent, while a further 10 experienced an average occupancy rate of over 70 percent.

The new data is a marked improvement on the previous fortnight, when the Cabinet Office secured just 76 percent of staff coming into work, and multiple departments saw a paltry 50 percent.

Reacting to the dramatic turnaround, Cabinet Office minister Esther McVey told the Express that the results are “encouraging”, and hoped they would inspire businesses across the country to be equally tough with their staff.

Ms McVey said: “Lockdown changed the public’s relationship with going into the office and it’s taken a long time to get people back there”.

Minister Esther McVey said the figures are encouraging (Image: Getty)

“Working in the office brings huge benefits not just in terms of productivity but also to help develop the skills of younger members of staff.

“These results are encouraging and I am pleased that my department at the Cabinet Office has an attendance of 96%, recognising the importance of being in the office.

“I hope we will see this move back to office working replicated in all organisations across the country.”

Last week, Cabinet Office minister John Glen stressed that working from home should be the “exception and not the rule” for those working in Government.

He accused mandarins of still “languishing in lockdown habits” despite being told to “get back to the office”.

He wrote: “Today, our lives have mostly returned to how they were before the pandemic, yet some parts of society still bear the marks of our lockdowns.

“One of those places is the Civil Service and the wider public sector, where there is one lockdown habit remaining which we must act on: People are still working from home too much.”

The Government has been battling civil servants’ working-from-home habits for two years now.

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg congratulated his old department for leading the pack (Image: Getty)

In April 2022, the then-minister for Government Efficiency Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg was criticised for leaving “condescending” notes on the desks of shirking civil servants.

Sir Jacob toured Whitehall departments, leaving notes reading “Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon” on empty desks.

The top Tory argued that working from the office helps realise the “benefits of face-to-face, collaborative working and the wider benefits for the economy”.

Sir Jacob also reacted positively to today’s figures, adding: “This is welcome news, as an old Cabinet Office hand I am pleased to see it doing particularly well”.