Employers urged to offer staff “choice of flexible arrangements” in Welsh Government’s strategy to increase remote working

More businesses across Wales are to be encouraged to to offer employees the “choice of more flexible working arrangements” as part of a remote working strategy released by the Welsh Government.

The pandemic forced many companies to rethink how they operate after the UK and Welsh Government introduced a strict “work from home requirement where possible” in an attempt to reduce the spread of the virus.

In September 2020 the Welsh Government announced plans to see around 30 percent of the workforce in Wales working from home or near from home, including after the threat of Covid-19 lessens.

The Welsh Government has now released a strategy setting out its plans to work with businesses, and how trade unions and key stakeholders can help more employers to adopt a more agile and flexible approach within their workplace, so that employees can make a choice on the way they work, whether that’s locally from a shared work space, from home, or a mixture of both.

Many organisations, such as Wrexham-based communications company Moneypenny, Caerphilly-based Disability Wales and Blaenau Gwent Council to name just a few, have already adopted a mixed working approach.

The Welsh Government has also said it aims to have no more than 50 per cent of its workforce working from a central office at any one time.

The strategy highlights benefits to remote working, such as offering greater choice and flexibility, work life balance, reducing carbon emissions and how job satisfaction and productivity reduces the time and expense associated with commuting.

It is also thought a new approach to working can help boost the local economy by using co-working hubs.

The Welsh Government found that one person had reclaimed an estimated “20 days of time back when they would have been commuting” by working in a shared working space in Swansea part of the week rather than their previous five full days in Cardiff.

Plans to develop an online platform that helps people find work spaces local to them is being explored, alongside best practice guidance that can be shared with businesses to help them make the move.

To help employees better understand their workforce and track trends for future development, data will be collected.

However a Senedd committee warned that whilst remote working is here to stay, there are risks if not implemented properly.

These include unsuitable conditions, a hit to city centres and urban areas with “lower levels of amenity”, staff not having adequate technology to do their work, power imbalances and the creation of two tier workforces,

The Welsh Government says it will work alongside stakeholders, employers and trade unions to help manage the risks.

Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters said: “One of the lessons we’ve learned from the pandemic is that many people don’t want to or need to be in a traditional workplace environment to carry out their work.

“Working remotely brings with it a multitude of benefits. As well as helping people escape the commute and develop a better work-life balance, working locally also plays a vital role in regenerating our town centres by bringing people into the heart of the community to work and shop, as well as reducing congestion and cutting carbon emissions.

“But we can’t deliver our ambition alone, everyone has a part to play and we will continue to spread the message to lock in the positive changes we’ve already made and address the negatives to support more businesses to make the move to flexible working.”

Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething said: “The remote working strategy we’re launching sets out how we’ll work to encourage more flexibility and choice for workers, and greater agility for businesses and organisations across all economic sectors.

“As set out in our Economic Mission, the benefits of remote working for businesses and organisations able to adapt are clear – increased productivity and reduced sickness absence, more job opportunities for people based in rural and semi-rural communities, and access to a wider and more diverse workforce.

“Furthermore, our upcoming Strategic Vision for Retail will outline how the retail sector can take advantage of people having more opportunities to work closer to home.

“We will not mandate targets for employers or individuals – instead, we’re aiming to support employers and work with trade unions to showcase what best practice looks like. We believe these new ways of working should be introduced and be maintained in line with the fair work and social partnership principles this Welsh Government is fully committed to.