All civil servants in New South Wales currently working from home are to return to the office as businesses in Sydney’s CBD continue to struggle.
Prime Minister Chris Minns has announced that anyone working in government who is still working from home will have to return to the office from Tuesday.
The Minnesota government announced this on Monday in a government memorandum to all departments.
Businesses in the CBD have struggled to break even since everyone started working from home during the pandemic.
The new rules from the Prime Minister’s Department dictated that Civil servants are now expected to work from approved office spaces every day of the working week.
Limited flexibility will still be allowed in cases of There are job share or compressed hour arrangements, but most employees will return to the office full time.
The memorandum warned that existing work-from-home arrangements, introduced in 2019, ‘should not be taken for granted or unlimited.
“The more our work experience is shared, the more we become united. This means we are physically present in our organizations,” it continues.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has issued a government-wide memorandum stating that all civil servants must return to the office from Tuesday
The new rules come as businesses in Sydney’s CBD have struggled to break even since people started working from home during the pandemic.
Civil servants who want to work from home must now indicate why they need their hybrid arrangement. Formal approval is required for this.
This approval is reviewed regularly.
Civil servants who want to work outside the state also need permission from the head of their department.
A follow-up email from the Prime Minister’s Department Secretary Simon Draper, the employees confirmed presence at the office is required throughout the week.
“New South Wales’s public sector represents the largest workforce in the country,” he wrote.
All functions play a vital role in delivering services to the community and maintaining good governance in NSW.
IPaul Nicolaou, Managing Director of Business Sydney, welcomed the news.
“This is fantastic news and great leadership from the prime minister,” he said.
‘Employers tell Business Sydney we really need to take the CBD seriously to get back to pre-Covid levels.
“The city needs more foot traffic and therefore more workers to support the hundreds of businesses and enterprises that depend on them.”
more to come