Derby City Council’s chief executive has defended the authority’s position on home working after it was reported staff were allowed to work from abroad for dozens of days. A Freedom of Information Act request showed that one Derby City Council staff member worked from France for 106 days and another spent 42 days working in New Zealand.
News of the situation triggered calls for a serious investigation to be held about remote working levels at the Labour-led city council.
But Paul Simpson, the council’s chief executive, said in a statement that “only a tiny proportion” of the council’s workforce was given permission to work from abroad and would only be permitted “for limited periods”.
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Mr Simpson also said the data provided in the Freedom of Information referred more to IT accounts being enabled in locations rather than “the actual time” spent working abroad.
He said: “Derby City Council’s data on colleagues working abroad refers to the number of days their IT work accounts were enabled to be used from an overseas location, not necessarily the actual time spent working abroad. Often colleagues have volunteered to interrupt their planned annual leave to join an important meeting while on holiday.
“We strive to be a modern, flexible employer and taking advantage of technology to enable colleagues to work safely from multiple locations is an important part of attracting and retaining staff, which is vital for delivering quality services.
“That said, only a tiny proportion of our workforce was given permission to work from abroad, and it’s important to note that this is permitted only for limited periods and when we are confident it won’t negatively impact service delivery or productivity.”
Mr Simpson added: “The council has successfully operated a hybrid working model over several years. This approach has significant advantages and has enabled colleagues to respond quickly and effectively from various locations during emergency situations, such as the Covid pandemic and incidents of flooding.
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“We take a flexible and pragmatic approach to hybrid working, where managers work with their teams to determine the most effective working arrangements for their services while ensuring the best quality of service is delivered.”
Mr Simpson’s statement comes after Reform Derby councillor Alan Graves described the situation as “ridiculous”. Conservative councillor Jonathan Smale also raised alarm bells saying remote working at the council had been a concern among the political group “for some time”.
Councillor Smale said he wanted an investigation to take place on the issue of home working. He said: “In light of this new information, I am calling on senior officers to suspend all remote working arrangements immediately and conduct a full audit of every officer engaged in remote work.
“This audit should assess whether remote working is necessary and being used appropriately. While annual leave is understandable, the timeframes being reported for working in countries like France and New Zealand are unacceptable.”
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