Aberdeen City Council has been accused of hampering its own multi-million-pound city centre regeneration plans – by allowing staff to work from home.
The head of business body Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) is urging the authority to reverse a policy originally put in place to stop the spread of Covid.
The group’s chief executive, Russell Borthwick, has called on the council to force hundreds of workers back into the Marischal College HQ.
The complex, which is the world’s second largest granite building, is capable of accommodating 1,300 workers.
Should council end remote work to boost Aberdeen city centre?
Mr Borthwick said: “Successful city regeneration projects require one main ingredient- people. To live there, to spend leisure time and to work there.
“Meanwhile, the city’s biggest employer of all continues to enable swathes of their staff to work remotely.
“Come on Aberdeen City Council, you have an easy lever to build footfall in the east end of the city centre. Pull it.”
Mr Borthwick described the “pulling of the lever” as a “no cost option” that would “bring hundreds more people into the city on a daily basis”.
He explained: “Added to the productivity, team building, development and customer service benefits it would bring, surely this is worthy of serious consideration.”
Council committed to being a ‘flexible employer’
An Aberdeen City Council spokeswoman told us that working practices are judged by their benefit to the role and to citizens.
She said: “Our city centre offices have staff working from them every day.
“As a flexible employer, we continue to support a range of working styles which includes part time and hybrid working where the role can support it.
“Working practices are always based first and foremost on the requirements of the role and our customers.”
What do business leaders think?
At a crunch summit about the future of Union Street last autumn, business leaders appealed to the council to bring its workers back to the city centre.
One trader said that this was essential in reversing the trend of vacant units and shuttered shops on the city’s Granite Mile.
They said: “Obviously, if you had so many more people back in the city centre, that helps all the city centre businesses.”
The tracker revealed about 40 unoccupied buildings within a quarter mile of Marischal College – including units on Schoolhill and Upperkirkgate.
Do you agree with the remote working policy? Let us know in our comments section below
But remote work is not exclusive to Aberdeen City Council…
According to an Office for National Statistics survey, 40% of working adults said they had worked from home at least once in the previous week- up from 12% in 2019.
Mr Borthwick’s call for more in-person workers comes as a new bill increasing opportunities for flexible work has come into law.
The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill received royal assent last month.
It requires employers to consider requests for flexible working conditions within two months and to consult with employees before rejecting the request.
The UK government has hailed the bill as beneficial for both businesses and employees.
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