Staff at cash-strapped council granted right to work abroad
Bosses at a cash-strapped council have been granting requests from employees to work overseas.
The leader of the Lib Dem-run Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) council confirmed at a recent meeting that 'some requests' from staff had been approved – despite 70 per cent of the council's 2,504 employees already working in a hybrid setting.
Millie Earl, the leader of BCP council, said: 'We do know that both colleagues and councillors may carry out work from time to time whilst abroad and this can be as little as accessing emails whilst on holiday.
'We have, however, received a sporadic number of requests from colleagues wishing to work abroad temporarily which was particularly heightened around the time of Covid.'
While their records show that there are no current council employees with a non-UK address, Ms Earl confirmed some of these requests had been granted 'subject to certain conditions, only on a temporary basis for specific personal reasons'.
Ms Earl said: 'Our 2023 staff engagement survey had 2,504 responses which is a 52 per cent response rate.
'We know that the majority of those responding are in office or desk-based roles.
'Of those who responded 70 per cent said that they worked in a hybrid way with a range of colleagues working remotely for different proportions of time.
'None of our colleagues, unless agreed through a reasonable adjustment resulting from a disability, are considered as fully home-based.
'All colleagues are required to attend one of the council sites as required to either meet with their manager [or] teams as needed.'
Struggle to save money
The BCP council has faced significant financial pressure in recent years.
In 2023, officials even discussed turning off street lights, closing splash parks, axing lollipop men and women and reducing library opening times in an attempt to save money.
Last year, the council struggled to manage a funding gap of £44 million.
Phil Broadhead, leader of the Conservative opposition at BCP council, said: 'While remote working has its place and can sometimes help to balance work and family life, there's equally a growing body of evidence that for many roles, productivity is greatest when people work from the office.
'This is especially important in many council roles, particularly those involving interaction with our residents.
'Lib Dem-run Somerset council recently admitted that they have five staff members based overseas, including two inextricably working in social care.'
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