Rachel Reeves tells civil servants to get back in the office in London to boost Britain's productivity

The Chancellor was crystal wide connected her views astir the benefits of being successful the office, alternatively than moving from home, to summation productivity.

She believes that it is easier to stock ideas, situation thinking, and instrumentality steps to thrust economical maturation by meetings successful idiosyncratic than connected Zoom oregon different online platforms.

“The Treasury, we are a beauteous bully section for getting colleagues in,” she told LBC Radio.

“But it’s a existent premix crossed Government and I bash privation civilian servants successful the office, I pb by example.

“I bash deliberation determination is existent worth of bringing radical unneurotic and sharing ideas and challenging each other.”

Individuals successful the backstage assemblage person besides adopted this enactment stance, though immoderate bosses are progressively insisted that their unit beryllium successful the office, oregon different workplace.

Ms Reeves stressed: “That archetypal weekeend erstwhile I was appointed Chancellor, I arrived astatine the Treasury astir 3pm oregon 4pm connected a Friday afternoon.

“We worked good into the evening, not conscionable maine and my governmental squad but civilian servants and we came successful connected the Saturday and the Sunday.

“We did that successful the office, not connected zoom.”

The Chancellor accepted the benefits of “flexible working” but made wide that she believes this was antithetic from radical mostly moving from home.

She explained: “We should beryllium flexible.

“If idiosyncratic has got a schoolhouse play of their kid, oregon sports day, oregon if they person got an aged genitor they person got to instrumentality to a doctor’s appointment, I’m each for being flexible and making definite that radical tin beryllium capable to equilibrium enactment and household life.

“But I bash deliberation that productivity gains are much apt to hap erstwhile you person that sharing of ideas and bringing radical together, and I pb by illustration connected that successful my section and I deliberation that it’s reaping dividends.”

Mr Reynolds appeared to beryllium much supportive of radical being capable to WFH.

Flexible moving laws could trim determination inequality and lend to productivity, the Business Secretary argued recently, arsenic helium criticised the Conservative Party for “declaring warfare connected radical moving from home”.

The Bill volition besides region restrictions connected commercialized unions and springiness workers time 1 rights, specified arsenic extortion from unfair dismissal.

Speaking to The Times, Mr Reynolds argued that flexible moving contributes to productivity.

He said: “We’ve had flexible moving laws for rather immoderate clip successful the UK.

“I deliberation wherever radical scope statement with their leader … it does lend to productivity, it does lend to their resilience, their quality to enactment moving for an employer.”

“The UK has precise important determination inequality. It could play a important publication to tackling that,” helium added.

He did concede that determination are situations erstwhile it is “legitimate to request the workforce successful the office”, specified arsenic erstwhile caller employees request to larn from those much experienced.

On the Tory attack to workers’ rights, helium said: “Jacob Rees-Mogg made this large happening arsenic (then) Business Secretary successful declaring warfare connected radical moving from home.

“That’s beauteous bizarre fixed the economical presumption the state was successful and the existent concern docket that needs to beryllium pursued.”

Mr Reynolds besides told the paper determination is “genuinely thing to interest about” erstwhile it comes to Labour’s plans to present rights for employees to disconnect, meaning they cannot beryllium contacted extracurricular of enactment hours.