Civil Service - Post Lockdown - Blended Working?

What section are you in?

Flexi is gone. Which means if you're asked to work more than 7h24/day (the default) or your contracted hours, they absolutely do have to either give you TOIL or overtime. I can't remember for definite, but IIRC, it's your choice, too, whether it's overtime or TOIL.

You do not work for free.

Sure they do 😉

Yes, absolutely, people just get the job done. I regularly work more hours than I'm contracted to work, and it's not a problem. But, specifically, when there's overtime allocated for a job, and HEOs are supposed to "donate" free hours, just because, and not get TOIL or overtime pay? Well - let's just say there's more than one way to skin a cat.

Has anyone gotten any updates on mask wearing, or perhaps not mask wearing?

No mention of this in anything I’ve seen. The’ ‘wear while walking around’ policy always seemed a bit silly to me.

We have found out that our canteen is out of bounds when we go back in a few weeks so we are going to have to eat our lunch at our desks. I know there is the option to go out for lunch but like a lot of people I tend to only take a half hour for lunch and in the past would have brought my lunch in and ate it in the canteen upstairs.

Not a massive issue I suppose in the scheme of things but it's still nice to have that little break away from the desk

The canteen used to be both but was then changed to just provide a seating area to eat your own food. We have stations around the office to make tea and heat food but they are tiny. About the size of a toilet 😁

I know I'm replying to a few but no mention of canteen (subsided) being brought back in. Nor was there ever an option to use the empty canteen.

As regards to masks, same as before, moving beyond your desks you mask up.

Lot's saying the same here, should be personal choice at this stage.

Would there be a lot of people working in your office?

There's an awful lot of people working in pretty shoddy conditions, and then others who working in really high spec new facilities. Sometimes people get used to it or aren't aware how bad it is until they get out and about and see other offices.

Did you get formal notification making it a personal choice?

Would it not just be advisory, like on public transport.

The "return to work" is well underway in public service bodies. Staff to attend at offices a minimum of 3 days per week and there are further phases of the return process to come. Give it a couple of months and everyone will be back 5 days per week. There is talk of introducing a hybrid work policy (note that full remote isn't even on the table) based on DPER guidance etc. There is also talk of the right to request remote work legislation.

Given that the legislation is useless and given that the ordering back to offices is well underway, WFH in the public service is going to be a token thing at best IMO. I could see staff who can WFH being grudgingly offered 1 day per week from home with the 20% target for remote work in the programme for government being used to justify this. Meanwhile, 100k+ public servants who can't WFH will obviously not be WFH. End result would be far less than 20% of public service work will be done remotely.

Staff will go back to long commutes and trying to juggle responsibilities and the PS will continue, if not ramp up its bullsh*t virtue signalling about everything from climate action to staff mental health.

Sums it up nicely I'd say! Depressing really.