Civil Service - Post Lockdown - Blended Working?

IIRC, there was a "deadline" for applying for remote working on the NSSO website, though nobody could really explain why? New starters where I work have been getting access to remote working, no problem.

If a Dept has a blended working policy of for example 3 days in office and 2 WFH (not set office days, can be picked on a weekly basis). If on annual leave then in a work week for example 2 days, technically how many office days should employee fulfill that week?

WFH is negotiated for each individual /role, but the most common arrangement in my dept is for staff to work the same set days in the office every week. I don't know anyone personally who decides what days they are working on a week-to-week basis.

We also have 40% attendance in our policy, but no weekly minimum, and there is no written requirement anywhere within that policy for staff to "make up" for absence on leave on another day. (I was involved in drafting the policy.)

Same, but with a weekly 'anchor day' in each area/section when all staff are to attend office. The other day is your own choice.

The two day rule is regularly monitored by HR.

That headline should read 'Apple,Microsoft and SpaceX successfully removed high earners without having to offer redundancy and increased shareholder dividends.'

In relation to DSP.

I can confirm a recent job offer for a CO stated the following:

"No working from home options available for new staff for the first year due to on the job training. Limited after first year"

And I believe "limited" is very limited. Don't know much more outside of that.

I work with a guy who came to my office from DSP, they had a roster and got roughly one day WFH every fortnight.

I'd be more concerned with the future of recruiting / retaining staff in DSP, if this is the attitude of senior management to WFH.

If I was on a mobility list and no / very limited WFH was one of the conditions of a move there, I'd turn it down flat.

It'll never happen. The public service will gain tallent by offering WFH.

Im in justice now. I'll never go back to the office more than 1 day a week. And nobody will call me out on in.

Hold tight.

AFAIK, there isn't. Certainly not in my Dept anyway. We are officially two days per week WFH and there is no move or inclination to increase that, and that includes for new staff.

I have a friend in another Dept who is WFH 5 days a week (and that's officially) and a niece in another Dept who is 1 maybe 2 days per month, max.

So it varies, greatly, depending on where you land.

(eta) We also managed to train up new staff during Covid, when we were all WFH full time, so I think "training" can be a bit of a convenient excuse for Senior Management.

Getting by and "making do" is not the same as optimum/best practice though - personally I think a brand new person to the CS working 2-3 days from home from the off is not fair on anyone - like you could not possibly expect them to be learning/onboarding at max effectiveness or assimilating to the culture, practices, norms, workflows, systems as quickly as spending a month or so full time around colleagues getting instant on the spot feedback and being able to ask questions in the moment etc.

A lot of new staff would understandably not have the internal connections, confidence or seek help out as quickly remotely also. When new in a job leaving small things to fester for a few days, can slow up induction and learning significantly, and this is the most crucial time to set employees up for future success.

No issues with management requiring new staff to work full time in the office for the first few months tbh. Completely different situation after 6 months though.

Yes, absolutely. But I've never come across a job, except, perhaps, Revenue (and, separately, the CO Programmer induction course, also in Revenue), where you needed to receive serious amounts of training from day 1. I can see it being necessary in certain roles, all right, but the caveats here are a) we managed this fine during Covid, and lockdown; and b) there is (presumably!) a WFH charter/agreement in place in DSP. A year of no WFH just because you're a newbie just seems pointless and hugely counter-productive! We can't recruit/retain EOs because they can't afford to live in Dublin, never mind COs. As it is, I've got EOs commuting from Tipperary and Cork for two days work in Dublin!

This sounds very much like a solo run by DSP. I'd love to see their blended working policy, and how come Fórsa and AHCPS are silent on it?! I'd also love to see the response if someone formally requests the right to WFH under the new act…

I can tell you people have turned down mobility to a DSP office 5 minutes from their home in favour of 1 day per week in an office which is a 2 hour commute each way. DSP are going to have issues filling rolls down the line. Not a hope anyone would move on mobility with the DSP WFH arrangements at present.