I wish to inform the Deputy that my Department launched its Blended Working Policy on 1st July 2022. The policy was developed in line with the key principles and parameters of the Civil Service Blended Working Policy Framework.
A key principle of my Departments policy is to ensure business needs are met to the highest professional standards while allowing for the maximum amount of flexibility and personal choice for our staff in relation to their working arrangements. Blended working arrangements are agreed at a local level in each business unit. This can vary week to week, depending on business needs.
Blended working is available to the majority of staff, with the exception of a small number in roles that are customer facing, where office attendance is necessary to undertake the duties of the role. These roles account for approximately 5% of all staff. In addition, a small number of staff opt to work in the office full time and do not wish to avail of remote working.
At the end of 2022 over 92% of staff availed of remote working at least one day a week. This was consistent with the end of 2023, which also showed over 92% of staff availing of remote working at least one day a week.
The average daily percentage of staff members working remotely was 35.46% in 2023. This is equivalent of 14.62 hours per week gross, 12.41 hours per week net. The average daily percentage of staff working remotely in 2022 was 46.56%, which is the equivalent of 19.21 hours gross, 16.30 hours net per week. The remainder were working in the office or on leave.
At the end of 2022, of the staff availing of remote working, the gender breakdown was 45% female (97.74% of all female staff) and 55% male (87.78% of all male staff). At the end of 2023, this was 48% female (98.74% of all female staff) and 52% male (86.67% of all male staff).
