Civil servants working for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) are subject to less stringent office attendance requirements than many other Whitehall officials. These departments, led by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, allow staff to work from home for most of the month, requiring them to be in the office for a minimum of 40% of the time. This contrasts with a general mandate for most other civil servants to be at their desks 60% of the month.
Job advertisements for senior roles in DESNZ, with salaries up to £80,000, explicitly state that a hybrid office/home-based model is a benefit, with staff expected to spend a norm of 40-60% of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40%. This arrangement is also in place at DSIT.
Critics argue that this policy could lead to a decline in civil service productivity, affecting public services and increasing wait times for services like tax helplines. "Under Labour, civil servants working on matters as important as cyber security are getting the green light to work from home more than half the time," stated Shadow Home Office minister Mike Wood. He added, "We all know 'work from home' often means 'work from anywhere' – so how many of these staff are going to be joining their Teams calls from the bar or the beach?"
The DESNZ attributes its lower attendance requirement to a lack of adequate office space. In late 2024, the department had only 571 desks in its two Whitehall headquarters for a total of 2,969 civil servants. Despite this, government figures reportedly show DESNZ often records 100% occupancy, a figure critics suggest is misleading as it reflects building occupancy rather than actual staff attendance, with some suggesting it implies only one in five staff are present.
Former diplomat Ameer Kotecha, chief executive of the Centre for Government Reform, called the occupancy figures "seriously misleading," stating, "Claiming 100 per cent office occupancy when there are only enough desks for half the workforce isn't a rounding error." He added that the instinct when faced with a target is often to "redefine it" rather than meet it, expressing concern about "excessive work from home" across the civil service.
A government spokesperson defended the figures, stating that DESNZ and DSIT operate under a 40-60% minimum office work requirement based on estate capacity. The spokesperson asserted that DESNZ has one of the highest office occupancy rates, averaging 96% between January and March of the current year, with DSIT averaging 79% over the same period. The department insists the figure is not misleading as it is based on building occupancy, not staff attendance.
Ed Miliband has been mentioned as a potential candidate for Chancellor under a prospective Andy Burnham government. Separately, Labour's Deputy Leader Lucy Powell expressed confidence in Miliband's abilities, while a Labour source indicated that Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden is also a contender for the Treasury role.