Boris Johnson has sparked a new controversy over when workers should return to work by suggesting that people have had enough “days off” at home during the whole outbreak. -dissolved, and that they should try to return to their offices.
The prime minister’s comments – which followed a statement from the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, urging companies to reopen offices when the pandemic reduced or the risk of losing staff reduced – alarmed among scientists, and were identified by Labor as “irresponsible” and “largely inconsistent” by the government’s own way out of lockdown.
They also came as some of the country’s top recruiting agencies had told the Spectator revolutionary changes were inevitable in the world of work following the pandemic, with far more people wanting to work remotely and companies thinking about how their employees should work used effectively. Experts also predicted a shift to large-scale “hybrid working”, meaning that the five-day model of office work, such as three days at home, would be replaced by more flexible arrangements. and two in the office.
Monday sees further easing of Covid-19 restrictions in England with groups of up to six people, or two families, allowed to go out socially, and outdoor sports allowed. On Saturday, Wales became the first country in the UK to lift the “stay local” requirement, as unlimited travel was allowed across the country.
Johnson and his ministers, however, have not changed official advice that says people should work from home if possible. The issue is the subject of a government review and no changes are expected in the coming weeks, despite a drop in Covid-19 hospital admissions and mortality rates over the past few weeks.
However, when asked at the Conservative party’s spring conference yesterday whether there should be a special bank holiday when the pandemic goes down, Johnson said people should be thinking more about getting back to work than getting more time off. “The general perception is that people have had several days off, and that it would not be a bad thing for people to see their way around to stop them from getting into the office,” he said.
Andy McDonald, the employment rights and defense secretary, said Johnson’s comments could not be given as a joke and were very reckless. “He tries to pull the libertarian wing of his party on the same hand by talking about getting back into office, and then suggesting he is cautious. It just throws out ideas like this. You cannot ride two horses at once. It’s not leadership, it’s just narrower. ”
McDonald said that instead of encouraging a return to office work as before, the government should strengthen the right of workers to work from home whenever possible. “The right to seek flexible and remote employment should be matched by a duty on employers to implement such a request as far as is reasonable,” he said. The government has promised to launch a consultation on flexible working that has not yet begun.
Scientists warned that an immediate return to the office would be premature. “At this stage, the focus needs to be on keeping new day-to-day issues to a minimum, while vaccine distribution continues,” said Michael Head, senior health researcher at the University of the Highlands and Islands. globe at the University of Southampton. “We know the transmission is higher when people gather in for a long time. Therefore, people should be encouraged to continue working from home in the future. ”
Professor Martin Hibberd, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said the government should adhere to a cautious approach and wait until later in the year before allowing anything to return to regularity.
“With diseases becoming more resilient and new changes coming I feel we should be wary. If modified vaccines can change in September, and be delivered behind low numbers of diseases, I think we will finally be ahead of the virus, ”he said.
In July last year when the first wave of Covid-19 subsided, Johnson urged people to return to work if they could, long before official instructions were changed. His ideas at the time were seen by scientists as a symbol of overconfidence that allowed a second wave to catch up in the fall.
With a growing debate in corporate circles and trade unions about returning to office work, James Reed, chairman of Reed, one of Britain’s leading recruitment companies, said the impact of the pandemic would affect the way in which people worked deep and lasting.
“We are seeing big changes. There is no doubt from our discussions with employers and the types of jobs being advertised that the pandemic will lead to lasting changes in the way we live and work, ”he said.
“While there are some people who believe that there will be a rush back to the office across the board, I do not see a return to what we used to live and work. It is just a question of what is going to be normal. ”
Different companies adopt very different strategies. Last week the construction association Nationwide said it would allow all employees to work remotely, and investment bank Goldman Sachs said it hoped all 34,000 employees worldwide would be based on back in the office “as soon as possible”.
Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Confederation of Employment and Employment, said he thought there was a lot more hybrid work on the way. “I don’t think most five-day-a-week workers who have jobs in a city like London, Manchester, Birmingham or Glasgow do five days a week [in the office] when this is over, ”he said.
The government said a further 58 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of yesterday, bringing the total UK population to 126,573.