Council Staff Working From Home May 2022 - Find a freedom of information request

I want to know how many of the council staff are working from home or are using covid as an excuse. How many are actually going to work?

Due to the nature of Lincolnshire County Council's (LCC’s) current smarter working approach and the flexibility that brings, along with the number of sites at which employees can work, The Council are not able to give a precise figure on the number of employees who are currently working from home either full time or part time. LCC’s smarter working policy suggests a ratio of 50:50 home to office/other location, however the actual amount of time that individuals work from home compared to working from offices depends on the work they do, this includes:

• The type of interactions they need to have with colleagues and partner organisations.
• The type of interactions they need to have with members of the community.
• Access to physical locations or resources they need to do their jobs.

LCC employees will continue to work from home where they are able to, because working from home provides an efficient and productive way of working for many employees and is part of the Council’s smarter working approach.

Employees may also be working in offices or other locations either some or all of the time where:

• They have a personal need to support their health and wellbeing.
• They are unable to access an appropriate working environment at home.

LCC’s approach to managing cases of Covid-19 includes the following:

• If an employee has tested positive for Covid-19 and feels unwell, they will remain at home taking sickness absence.
• If an employee has tested positive, feels well, and can work from home while they are symptomatic, then they will do so.
• If an employee has tested positive, feels well, but can’t work from home, then they will work with their manager to risk assess and apply relevant safety measures required for their role to include PPE where applicable, plus increased handwashing and social distancing gaining additional advice from the health protection team when needed.
• If an employee lives in the same household as someone with Covid-19, they are encouraged to work from home if they can do so. If they are unable to do so, they will work with their manager to apply the relevant safety measures.