To ask if Civil Service are really enforcing the hybrid work policy to the letter?

[Lilifer]

I hope some CIvil Service employees can help me here. I about to leave a job for a position in the civil service. My current job is 90% remote and I love the work and my team but it's s big US corporation and the holiday and time off is quite restricted compared to the civil service which I think offers s better work life balance, flexitime more annual leave etc

The civil service Job ad says their policy is 2 days in office and 3 days work from home. Problem is I live 55 miles from office and nearby parking is £25-£30 a day and there's no civil service discount becasue there's so much demand for it that there's a waiting list. I did not know that when I accepted Job and now this adds £50-60 per week to my commute bill., as well as about £40 per week on fuel.

Are there any CS employees out there who can advise me how much flexibility there is in individual departments on the hybrid policy. Do they take in to account individual Circs such as how far away people live and the likely cost to them of parking etc or is it a rigid rule set for all regardless of circs?

Am quite worried about this and am thinking of now reversing my resignation in my current job. I really really wanted this cs job and if they can allow me to work a bit less in office then I don't mind a bit of extra expense but can't justify £200-£240 per month just for parking and the same amount again for fuel.

My local train service is appallingly bad. Regularly late and often stops randomly in middle of countryside becasue if engine breakdown it really is not reliable enough t for me for work

We are supposed to be going a minimum of 2 days per week but hardly anyone is. Most people are doing either 1 day a week or none. Its not strictly enforced. I usually go once a week and although the commute is long I enjoy it when I'm there.

Thanks so much to you all for your input here, it is really interesting how it seems to vary so much by department and organisation and manager

Is the role in a department OP or an ALB type scenario?

I can't understand why you'd apply for this job before checking you can definitely work in the office the number of days the job advert stated - which you admit was 2. If there was any lack of clarity about this why didn't you contact the recruiter to clarify in advance of sending in an application?

As some other PP have said, if I was having two travel in to the office X days, which I do find a bit of a hassle having two young children, not driving (due to disability) and a DH who also works, and I knew a colleague was WFH less just because they decided to apply for a job very far from where they lived and don't want to pay for the travel, I'd be very annoyed! I don't apply for jobs that are far away that I can't afford to get to, and not knowing parking costs is not an excuse, you could have done your research before you applied.

I think it basically just depends on the type of role you have, as well as your manager

I work totally from home now, but I don't have a customer facing role or any physical need to be in the office. We are told we are welcome to come in the office as much or as little as we want.

I don't think there's any consistency, the civil service well known for being flexible so hopefully they'll understand your circumstances.

DWP here, two days in the office, VERY strictly enforced in my team, maybe not so much in others. No, its not fair, yes it drives me mad.

You are most likely reading far too much into this, that flexibility would apply in a "Beast from the East" type scenario. The boss has basically said it will only happen in exceptional circumstances.

@WeightoftheWorld if I took job descriptions at complete face value I'd still be on minimum wage now, you apply for the role, then you negotiate with your hiring manager. I have a specialism that is difficult to hire well, and I know I can negotiate. It's one of those "be more man" situations. I haven't gotten a job yet that I've not been able to accept.

I'm very open to it as a line manager as well, but depends on how much I need/want that person.

I applied for the CS before lockdown and the job ad stated you had to live within reach of one of the hubs which were London, Peterborough and York. However by the time I started we were well into lockdown and home working was the norm. And the job ads became 'national' to open up the talent pool to the entire country. Seemed like an excellent move to me.

Then as the world opened up there was the opportunity to be attached to your nearest CS building even if it was your department but that didn't really happen widely.

We're now supposed to do 40% in the office (two days a week) but it's not monitored and it's totally flexible. I live three hours from 'my' office but rarely go there, but I travel to head office in London once or twice a month at their expense and work the rest of the time at home. Suits me down to the ground.

Flexitime is a real perk, I work a nine day fortnight so longer days but every other Friday off.

Are there no park and rides? If the office location is big enough to charge extortionate parking fees, surely there's public transport in?

The people saying that there aren't viable mechanisms in place to measure days in the office (e.g. the comment about desk booking being used to monitor attendance) are being very naive.

The cards that we swipe into the building with, and the location of our login to IT systems (I.e. the connection to office wifi) are both monitored where I work, and other CS buildings will have the same capability. Just because a particular department isn't using that capability yet doesn't mean they won't do so in future.

I'm CS and work entirely from home, my formal base is in the office but I've been in once in the last 6 months to get some IT equipment. I have had to do some travel to particular events and meetings in other places and if there was an important face to face meeting I'd go in but there's no need for me to be in the office a set amount of days. I'd imagine it depends on your role and the needs of the team.

Thanks that's really helpful. I'm in a legal role. The convo I had with my hiring manager a couple weeks back when I was offered the job was quite encouraging - I got the impression that whilst the official policy was 2 days in office 3 at home, that she as manager had the authority to vary that to accommodate individuals circs and she was clear to me that this was discretionary but very much within her gift and she was already indicating to me that it could be varied for me in my circs. It's a job I really want but I just need to know that it's sustainable for me, I have 5 kids, 3 still at home two in college and have caring duties for my 83 year old mum so I have a lot to juggle but I have been told that CS is very good with family friendly policies and more accommodating than for eg a private company would be.

@LookingOldTheseDays not all organisations are using the data in that way, mine isn't, and yes I would know if they were due to my job.

Thanks for that. Can I ask is there an official amount of days you're meant to be in the office and they just don't monitor it?

The point is that they can use the data that way whenever they choose.

Where I work, people are only being pulled up if they are doing significantly less than the required office time, but they are definitely monitoring it.

Depends on department and then area within the department. Some areas of mine is 3 and some 2. Then it depends on your team, my directorate is 2 days but it’s not enforced especially.

Also consider that if you’re in a London office you need to be in to get the London Weighting pay.

@LookingOldTheseDays not retrospectively they can't.

That sounds great!
Yes there's park and ride but that adds about another 25 mins to the commute time which is already 1.5 hours from door to door each way so it is available I guess but not partic appealing.

Our department is monitoring that data, they’ve said as much.

@Jengnr yes they have to say when they're doing to.

The CS is very family friendly - I have lots of autonomy and flexibility over which days I choose to work in the office, and how I structure my hours.

Two children in college wouldn't be considered a caring responsibility for flexibility purposes, because they shouldn't need childcare.

I think the problem with relying on manager discretion is that is isn't guaranteed. If an order comes from above to enforce office time due to political pressure, your manager may not be able to give you flexibility. So you need to be realistic.

The fact that she specified that there might be flexibility "in winter" makes me think she is thinking of bad weather or similar, not a routine way of working. Otherwise why mention winter?

@LookingOldTheseDays I know they could monitor office attendance more effectively, my point was they they currently don’t. But that it could easily change if there was political pressure to do so.

I'm not trying to put you off - I love how flexible my job is. It's just that manager discretion is relatively limited in scope.

I presume you’re going to be working in a big city? If you tell us which one, maybe someone might be able to suggest cheaper parking alternatives for the days you’re in the office? £45 is incredibly steep!