Humza Yousaf has sparked fury after it emerged the SNP will allow Scottish civil servants to work from abroad for up to 28 days each year. The workforce of the Scottish Civil Service has been informed they could be eligible to log on and work from their laptops in another country, anywhere around the world, for up to one month in any rolling 12-month period.
The SNP-led Scottish Government – currently with Humza Yousaf at the helm – has told staff that most roles are suitable for “hybrid working” – a form of flexible working where workers spend some of their time working remotely, which has become increasingly popular ever since the Covid pandemic.
As well as staff working from their homes in Scotland, they would also be allowed to work from a foreign country for up to four weeks annually if there is a “genuine requirement” to do so, according to a freedom of information request submitted by the Scottish Daily Mail. It is not clear what these requirements are.
Despite a new Whitehall policy forcing civil servants in England and Wales to spend at least 60 per cent of their working hours in the office, the Scottish Government has refused to implement the same policy – announcing instead that they want to make it possible for employees to “live some distance” from their contractual place of work.
Meanwhile, it was revealed last year that the SNP Government had allowed 32 employees to work outside of the UK – with most of that number being stationed in Europe and some further afield. In 2022, the finance director of the public body Historic Environment Scotland had somehow been allowed to work from New Zealand.
The SNP’s latest hybrid working policy reveals that short-term working from abroad requests “may be possible” as long as an application form is completed. However, employees, when required, should always be prepared to travel into the office “in their own time at their own cost”.
David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “If the public sector isn’t going to make full use of its array of office premises then they should exit these properties and allow other organisations who might occupy them to do so. That would give consumer-facing firms some hope that the patronage and footfall which is so desperately needed in our city centres might return.”
A Scottish Government spokesman told the Telegraph: “Consistent with the policy in place across the UK civil service, the Scottish Government does not support long-term remote working abroad.
“As part of our hybrid working arrangements, we consider requests to work abroad for short periods totalling no more than four weeks over a year for personal reasons such as visiting family members, provided staff have access to a secure and appropriate working environment. Any request requires authorisation from a senior manager at deputy director level or above.”
