Latest news with #JoeGriffin
Scottish Sun
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Moaning Scot Gov civil servants in fresh quit threat over working in office just TWO DAYS a week
Scroll down to read some of the civil servants' moans SHIRKING FROM HOME Moaning Scot Gov civil servants in fresh quit threat over working in office just TWO DAYS a week Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WHINING civil servants have threatened to quit and boasted about being able to pet their cat amid moves to cut working from home. The fresh round of moaning comes as Nats chiefs demand they return to the office for just two days a week. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Sign up 3 Workers shared their gripes in messages unearthed by Scottish Tories from the Scottish Government's internal messaging site Viva Engage. Credit: Getty 3 Some claimed that coming back in to work could hamper them having a family or getting a pet, Credit: Getty Grumbling penpushers also raised concerns about staff who had moved to England thanks to work-from-home rules. They also highlighted the benefits of being able to stand up and smell the fresh air. Just weeks ago The Scottish Sun revealed how civil servants demanded the reopening of a long-shuttered swimming pool at a government office and a pay rise over cutting their days at home. Others claimed coming back in to work would hamper them having a family or getting a pet, while others suggested their human rights may be breached. In new messages, unearthed by Scottish Tories from the Scottish Government's internal messaging site Viva Engage, officials continued griping. One bragged not being in the office allowed their 'furry little HR advisor' to 'check in on me in the morning' — attaching an image of their cat. 3 New messages reveal the whinges of civil servants Another said: 'I know some colleagues who don't actually live in Scotland any more, so are they going to still be WFH full time? 'They are not going to travel up from England a few times a week to come into the office are they?' Stephen Kerr, employment spokesman for the Scottish Tories, slammed the fresh batch of complaints. He said: 'Hardworking Scots will give short shrift to civil servants throwing their toys out the pram about having to go back to the office. 'If that is all it takes for some to say they will leave, then you question what value they were adding to workforce productivity anyway.' Woke Scottish Government staff demanded POOL & pay rise to return to office for just TWO days a week We told earlier this month how top civil servant Joe Griffin - now on a £180,000 salary - was blasted for moaning about his long working days He also joked to a colleague about being distracted from playing the video game Tetris.
Scotsman
25-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Shocking number of Scottish Government 'managers' shows need for urgent action
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Imagine starting work at a new job and, on your first day, being introduced to your personal manager, who will monitor your every move. Of course, this would never happen in the real world. However, in the decidedly surreal world of the Scottish Government, this is the apparent situation, with Joe Griffin, the new Permanent Secretary, telling MSPs that just under 50 per cent of government civil servants are line managers. Now, we assume that the situation is not quite as farcical as it seems on the face of it. Presumably, most of these managers have duties of their own that keep them gainfully employed, enabling the rest of the workforce to do their jobs without ridiculous levels of micromanagement. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad That said, coupled with figures showing the civil service is at its highest level in Scottish Parliament history, with 27,400 staff, it clearly suggests there is considerable scope for efficiency savings and workforce restructuring so that there are fewer 'bosses' and more workers. It may also help explain why Scotland's public finance minister, Ivan McKee, believes £1 billion can be saved over five years by cutting 'back-office costs'. John Swinney needs to make government efficiency a real priority (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell) | Getty Images SNP MSP Michelle Thomson described the number of line managers as 'extraordinarily high' and asked what plans were in place to reduce it. There was no 'specific plan' to do so, Griffin admitted, but added the issue was 'in play'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad All this may appear rather dull, not an issue that will be raised on the doorstep by many voters during the looming election campaign. However, the effects of inefficient government are real and serious. Money spent on too many government civil servants is money that could otherwise have been used to reduce class sizes to within acceptable limits by employing more teachers or to cut waiting times for cancer treatment, which have just recorded the worst figures since records began.
Times
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
Public money ‘at risk' from failure to implement gender ruling
Significant sums of taxpayers' money is at risk of being squandered due to a refusal to implement the Supreme Court gender ruling in Scotland, John Swinney's most senior civil servant has been warned. The Scottish government is facing two 'concrete threats' of legal action due to its failure to abandon policies in place across the public sector which allow biological males to enter women's single-sex spaces by asserting they self-identify as female. On Tuesday, Joe Griffin, the new permanent secretary, admitted that he was unable to provide Holyrood's finance committee with any 'specific actions' that had been taken to abide by the ruling. Instead, he said that a working group had been set up to 'prepare the ground' for the publication of official guidance by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on how it should be implemented.
Telegraph
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
‘Get on' with trans lavatory ban, Scottish civil servant told
Scotland's most senior civil servant has been urged to 'get on' with banning trans women using female lavatories in the public sector after being unable to say what 'specific' steps he was taking. Joe Griffin, the SNP Government's permanent secretary, told MSPs that he was 'taking action where we think that is appropriate and possible' to implement the Supreme Court ruling that the definition of a woman is based solely on biological sex. He said a 'a further series of actions' would follow the publication by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) of official guidance on how to comply with the ruling. But Michelle Thomson, an SNP MSP, noted that the EHRC had been clear that public bodies did not have to wait for the guidance to prevent trans women from accessing female-only spaces and advised him to 'get on it'. Ms Thomson warned Mr Griffin that it was a 'very poor look' that the SNP Government had 'not done anything about it', 10 weeks after losing the landmark case in the Supreme Court. Challenged to say what he had done 'beyond talking about taking action', Mr Griffin said: 'Specific actions, I can't give you that right now.' The exchange at Holyrood's finance and public administration committee come as the feminist campaign group that won the Supreme Court case has threatened Mr Griffin with legal action unless the ruling is urgently implemented. For Women Scotland (FWS) wrote to him warning that the group reserved 'the right to take further action if the Scottish Government continues to fail to uphold the law'. Sex Matters, a gender-critical charity, also last week gave the Scottish Government 14 days to introduce new policies and guidance or face further court action. In a formal 'letter before action' sent to ministers, the charity demanded that they issue a statement that policies allowing trans people to access women-only spaces be 'suspended with immediate effect'. Several branches of Scotland's public sector, including the Scottish Government, have adopted a gender self-identification approach, allowing trans women access to female toilets and changing rooms. No 'specific actions' First Minister John Swinney has said Scotland's public sector should await the EHRC guidance before acting, but the equalities watchdog has said it did not need to delay. It noted that the law was already set out in the Supreme Court's 'very readable' ruling and this was 'effective immediately'. Interim guidance has also been issued by the EHRC stating that access to single-sex facilities in workplaces and public services should be based on biological sex. Mr Griffin told the committee the Scottish Government accepted the ruling and he had convened a short-life working group 'to take stock of the actions that we need to take'. He noted that the EHRC's consultation on its guidance ends next Monday and further steps would be taken after it was finalised. Challenged by Ms Thomson on why the Government was not complying with the ruling now, he said officials had to 'understand what the statutory regulator is proposing for how we deal with some of the complexities of the situation'. Asked about 'what specific actions you have taken right now beyond talking', he said: 'Specific actions, I can't give you that right now. 'But the work that's involved in the group and the work that the teams that are represented on the group are taking is to prepare the ground.' Mr Griffin said this would mean the Scottish Government was ready for the guidance being published but Ms Thomson pointed the threats of legal action from FWS and Sex Matters. She said: 'So that is two potential further legal cases which I think, given the strength of the Supreme Court [judgment], we can anticipate the way in which they would go with potentially a significant loss of public money. I am staggered why you're not acting now.' The FWS letter to Mr Griffin said: 'At this point in time, there is no justification for these non-compliant policies, both within Scottish Government control, to continue to be adhered to and we expect them to be immediately withdrawn.'
The Independent
24-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Top civil servant told to ‘get on it' after Supreme Court ruling on gender
The Scottish Government is seeking to 'prepare the ground' to act when new guidance on gender is issued, the country's most senior civil servant has insisted. Permanent Secretary Joe Griffin came under fire from MSP Michelle Thomson, who told him it was a 'very poor look' that 10 weeks on from the landmark Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman, the government had 'not done anything about it'. Mr Griffin insisted the Scottish Government was 'taking action where we think that is appropriate and possible', pending a further update from regulators at the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). But with two women's rights groups – For Women Scotland and Sex Matters – now threatening further legal action against the Scottish Government, Ms Thomson told the top civil servant he should 'get on it'. She challenged the Permanent Secretary on the issue in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling back in April that the words 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex. That judgment came about after a challenge to the Scottish Government by For Women Scotland – with ministers, including First Minister John Swinney, making clear that while they accept that, they are waiting for further guidance from the EHRC before acting. Ms Thomson however pointed out that at Holyrood the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has ruled that the use of toilet facilities designated as either male or female will be based on biological sex – preventing trans people from using the toilet of their preferred gender. Mr Griffin insisted there is a 'range of action we have been taking already', adding that Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville had tasked him with leading a short life working group 'to take stock of the actions we need to take'. Speaking as he gave evidence to MSPs on the Finance and Public Administration Committee, Mr Griffin said: 'These are the actions we are taking while we wait for the end of the EHRC process to review their statutory guidance. 'Once that is finalised we will then be able to take a further series of actions.' He added: 'We are taking action where we think that is appropriate and possible, pending the finalisation of the EHRC guidance.' When Ms Thomson then demanded to know what action had been taken 'beyond talking about taking action', Mr Griffin told her: 'Specific actions, I can't give you that right now.' But he insisted the work being done was looking to 'prepare the ground' so that the government is ready to implement changes once the EHRC guidance is finalised. The Permanent Secretary said: 'We in the Scottish Government are in a very similar position to the UK Government and the Welsh Government in our understanding of our responsibility being we need to wait for the guidance for the implementation of some actions.' But with two potential further legal challenges that Ms Thomson said could potentially result in a 'significant loss of public money', the SNP MSP told him she was 'staggered why you are not acting now'. Mr Griffin said the advice he was given 'remains nevertheless that we should wait for the statutory regulator to finalise their guidance'. He added: 'I am assured that the advice that I've got is the correct advice. 'We find ourselves in a very similar position to our colleagues at Westminster and in Cardiff.' But Ms Thomson told him: 'I think my firm advice to you would be to look afresh at that. It is no justification under law, frankly, to say: 'Ah well, that's what everybody else was doing.' 'The Supreme Court judgment was compellingly clear, there is a threat of two further legal actions. My firm advice to you, Permanent Secretary, would be to get on it, because I think you are ultimately the accountable officer responsible for ensuring the Scottish Government upholds the law. 'And regardless of your view in this matter, I personally think it is a very poor look that we're 10 weeks later and we haven't done anything about it.'
