Jacob Rees-Mogg has only issued three 'get back to the office' notices to civil servants

25 April 2022, 19:03

Jacob Rees-Mogg has only issued three ‘get back to the office’ notices to absent civil servants, LBC has learned – despite leading a drive to try to force staff to stop working from home.

The Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency Minister sparked a row after leaving notes on empty desks telling their usual occupants that he was “sorry you were out when I visited” and “look[ed] forward to seeing you in the office very soon”.

The move was criticised as “crass”, “condescending” and “demeaning” by union leaders but defended by Mr Rees-Mogg and Downing Street, which has backed his drive to get government staff to return to their offices.

However, LBC understands that, despite ministers’ anger over civil servants continuing to work from home, Mr Rees-Mogg has only handed out three of the notices so far – all of them to members of his own department within the Cabinet Office.

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On Sunday, Mr Rees-Mogg appear that civil servants who do not return to the office faced having their pay cut or even being sacked.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, he said “parts of the public sector seem to act as if they are still in lockdown”.

Hinting that jobs could be moved out of London, he added: “If people are not back in their office, it will be fair to assume the job does not need to be in London.”

Asked about Mr Rees-Mogg’s notes, Boris Johnson’s spokesman said: “What the minister is seeking to achieve is to do everything possible to get the civil service to return to the pre-pandemic level. That is what he is seeking to do. That is supported by the Cabinet Secretary and obviously the Prime Minister.”

But Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, said: "That a minister would think it appropriate to leave such crass, demeaning notes for civil servants is testament to just how disconnected Jacob Rees-Mogg is from the business of government.

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"With every pronouncement and display like this, he demonstrates that he has no clue how the modern workplace operates and cares little about the effective delivery of vital public services.

“Instead, he’s intent on virtue signalling to his political base, and is either oblivious to or simply doesn’t care about the damage he’s doing to the morale of civil servants and the reputation of the civil service as an employer."