In line with Government advice, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine implemented a return-to-the-workplace schedule in February 2022.
Since March, staff have been required to attend the workplace on the basis of a minimum of three days per week. Currently, staff who wish to work remotely two days per week can seek this option through local management arrangement. In addition, and as required under the Blended Working Policy Framework for Civil Service Organisations, my Department has launched its own Blended Working Policy which enables staff to formally apply to work remotely up to two days per week.
Applications will be approved with due consideration to the suitability of both the applicant and the role for blended working, along with the requirements of relevant teams and business areas. It is currently anticipated that such formalised arrangements will begin from mid October 2022 and, in most cases will mirror current attendance patterns.
In keeping with the practices which applied before the pandemic, applications for special accommodation to work from home due to, for example, health matters are considered on a case by case basis.
Typically, the advice of the Chief Medical Officer is a key component in arriving at the outcome of such considerations. In 2021, 10 such requests were considered, nine were approved and one request was declined. To date in 2022, 19 requests have been received, of which 13 were approved, four were declined and two remain under consideration.
