Axing home working for staff at West Northamptonshire Council would have cost £15 million, report suggests
According to a review of home working arrangements carried out by WNC officers, full return to desks would cost around £15m with ongoing costs v.1
In recent days, Chief Executive Anna Earnshaw sent an email to staff stating that flexible working arrangements are allowed to stay. This follows the new Reform UK administration’s request for an overview of the potential financial and organisational impacts of bringing staff back in permanently.
The council’s Office Space Review, which has been obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service through a Freedom of Information request, put forward a number of suggestions to increase worker capacity. It looked specifically at council properties at One Angel Square (OAS), County Hall and the Guildhall.
Officers presented the cheapest option as increasing the maximum occupancy of Angel Square and the Guildhall on a hot desking arrangement. They calculated that it would cost WNC £9.9 million in capital works and £1.1 million in annual revenue costs each year, but noted a risk of worsening office distraction problems.
The most expensive proposal, which the report stated was “more realistic for functional 1:1 provision”, included making more space for staff in OAS, the Guildhall and the County Hall. This would have cost WNC £14.8 million in capital expenditure and £1.6 million in additional revenue costs per year.
An extract from the council document read: “Ultimately, the council needs to be efficient and productive, responsive to its communities and demonstrating value for money.
“It has been assessed that a hybrid working model is the most effective in enabling the council to meet these goals. It cannot be assumed that ‘in the office’ = ‘productive’.”
‘A less attractive employer’
On top of the financial burden, the report also noted potential workforce retention and recruitment implications arising from the proposals.
The review said that the authority would “without a doubt be deemed a less attractive employer” if flexible working was removed and would therefore have difficulty recruiting to critical roles.
It also said the issue would spill over to staff retention, warning that staff in hard to fill and specialist jobs would likely move to other employers. Around 20 percent of the workforce falls under this category, including roles in SEND, Legal, Planning, Public Health, and Adult and Children’s services.
Another area of concern was the council’s contractual ability to change worker arrangements, as any change to an individual staff member would be subject to a long consultation period with the person affected and trade unions.
It further added that this would present a risk of employment tribunal claims to WNC and may lead to trade unions raising a formal dispute, which could include strike action.
‘It was undoubtedly causing staff a lot of concern’
The attempted crackdown on hybrid and remote workers was first announced by the party’s national leader, Nigel Farage, who warned earlier this year that staff working from home in Reform councils should be “seeking alternative careers”.
Lynsey Tod, regional organiser at UNISON East Midlands, said: “We welcome the confirmation that the flexible working arrangements are going to continue because it was undoubtedly causing staff a lot of concern.
“Our view is that flexible working has a positive impact on productivity and also enables people to have a better work life balance. Also, for some people working from home is not just a preference, but a reasonable adjustment due to health conditions or disabilities.”
When asked about the rhetoric from Mr Farage on home working and promises to eradicate it in Reform councils, Ms Tod said she thought it was “ill-advised”.
She added: “I think the reality of running a local authority is different to the rhetoric that perhaps their leader was saying in the election.
“What we’re really keen on doing is building an effective relationship with Reform so that we can have these conversations and point out the pitfalls in policy decisions like this would’ve been.
“We will be keeping a very close eye on any action by any council to withdraw flexible working,” she added.