By GB News (World News) | Created at 2024-12-30 21:01:09 | Updated at 2025-01-02 16:53:59
2 days ago
Thousands of council staff have been permitted to "work from the beach" - from luxurious destinations including Barbados, South Africa and Thailand - more than 2,000 times since the pandemic, with approvals continuing to rise.
Town hall bosses approved 731 staff requests to work from overseas locations in 2023, up from 708 in 2022 and 440 in the year after Covid-19 struck.
The trend has indicated no signs of slowing, with a further 226 requests already approved in the first months of 2024.
The figures, obtained through Freedom of Information requests by the TaxPayers' Alliance, might be even higher, as many councils either failed or refused to respond.
Derby City Council allowed an employee to work from France for 74 days and New Zealand for 42 days (Stock image)
GETTY/Google Street View
Of more than 300 councils approached in England and Wales, 271 replied to the requests, with only 65 providing data on foreign working arrangements.
Local authorities have defended the practice, claiming it helps them retain staff in "a competitive recruitment market".
One council worker was permitted to log in from Ibiza for four years, from March 2020 until February this year, while employed by West Devon Borough Council.
Meanwhile, Derby City Council allowed an employee to work from France for 74 days and New Zealand for 42 days.
Staff at multiple councils were approved to work from Caribbean destinations, with Powys County Council granting permission for an employee to work from Barbados across three consecutive years.
At Labour Islington Council, bosses have approved 330 trips since 2020, allowing staff to work from Caribbean islands such as St Lucia and Montserrat.
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Central Bedfordshire Council has incorporated overseas working into its official policy, allowing staff to work abroad for up to a month annually.
Councils across England are amid preparations to hike council tax by up to five per cent in April, adding more than £100 to average household bills.
However, despite these anticipated tax rises, public service productivity has stayed significantly below pre-pandemic levels, with Office for National Statistics data showing it was 8.5 per cent lower in the second quarter of this year compared to late 2019.
One of the longest overseas arrangements saw a Wigan Council employee permitted to work from France for two years without returning to Britain - at the same time that Wigan Council implemented a five per cent council tax increase, adding £120 to average family home bills for 2025/26.
In Croydon, which has declared bankruptcy three times since 2020, staff were approved to work from Botswana while others received permission for year-long stays in Switzerland, while Croydon's residents faced a 15 per cent council tax hike, adding £235 to their bills.
Croydon Mayor Jason Perry defended the increase, insisting that it was a "budget that will help us to protect vital services for our residents".
Croydon Mayor Jason Perry defended the tax increase inflicted on local residents, insisting that it was a "budget that will help us to protect vital services"
PA
Ten requests to work from Jamaica were approved across councils, including from a senior Haringey employee earning over £77,000 annually.
Somerset County Council staff were among those heading to the Caribbean, with one member working from Barbados for two-and-a half weeks.
Critics have condemned the rise in overseas working arrangements, with Joanna Marchong of the TaxPayers' Alliance calling it "horrifying" that more employees are being given permission to "work from their sunbeds".
Former Tory Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said: "It indicates a contempt for the taxpayer – they're just not taking work seriously."
However, the Local Government Association defended councils' approach, saying: "Councils have long experience of managing staff remotely and it is a matter for individual councils to agree from where staff can work."
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has backed flexible working, describing previous Conservative efforts to clamp down on working from home as "bizarre".
The Local Government Department maintained its neutral stance, saying: "Councils are independent employers and they are responsible for managing their own workforces."
