Dozens of Scottish Government staff are taking advantage of Covid-era rules to log in remotely from other countries, we can exclusively reveal.
Official data released to The Sunday Post through Freedom of Information legislation shows 32 civil servants are working abroad in this capacity.
It follows reports of more than two-thirds of government office space lying empty as employees shun a return to work.
When did the rules change?
The Scottish Government has 20 members of staff permanently based overseas as part of their operations, such as in their established international hubs.
But a rule change in August 2021 allowed other staff to be able to work remotely from locations outside the UK “for a short period of time for personal reasons”.
More than 18 months after the final Covid restrictions were lifted for the wider public, our research shows dozens of workers are still dialling in from abroad.
The Scottish Government would not say what countries they are based in but did confirm 28 are in Europe and a further four are stationed elsewhere in the world.
They work across many departments, including agriculture and rural economy, children and families, culture, economic development, and justice.
At least one staff member works for Chief Medical Officer Gregor Smith, who played a key role in establishing Covid guidance during the pandemic.
Yousaf ‘working on another planet’
Scottish Conservative finance spokeswoman Liz Smith said the SNP government appears to some like a “remote entity”.
She added: “While the SNP preside over a billion-pound black hole in public finances, these far-fetched rules won’t do much to change that.
“During the Covid pandemic, people were often stuck in other countries with their families. It made sense to have staff logging on from the other side of the world.
“But modern, hi-tech and expensive offices are now lying half-empty across Scotland. High streets are struggling and hospitality businesses need office staff to stay and eat local.
“This out-of-touch SNP government is showing its lack of economic credibility. Humza Yousaf may as well be working on another planet.”
Requests to log in abroad are separate from compassionate leave when, for example, an employee needs to travel following the death of a family member.
The Scottish Government told us it does not have access to the total number of staff who requested to work remotely from other countries and also does not hold historical records of approved requests.
Elliot Keck, head of campaigns at pressure group the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “Scots will rightly be sceptical of these working arrangements.
“Taxpayers expect public sector workers to be at their desks delivering on the public’s priorities, not on the sun loungers.
“The Scottish Government should be fully transparent about the conditions placed on civil servants working abroad.”
What are other organisations doing?
The Scottish Parliament introduced its own guidance in July 2022 to be supportive of staff working outside the UK in emergency or other exceptional situations, when it’s necessary for specific roles or short period of times.
It confirmed it has not received any applications to work outside the UK on that basis.
Meanwhile, dozens of Scottish council staff have been logging in from as far afield as Australia, Japan and Ecuador.
Local authority bosses granted 67 requests to work from overseas over the past three years, with 40 of those approved in Edinburgh alone.
Edinburgh staff have been remote working from a range of locations including Gran Canaria, Italy, Japan, India, Greece, France, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.
Aberdeen had eight staff overseas, including in Germany, UAE and Bulgaria, while Shetland Islands Council has two employees based permanently in Australia.
Argyll and Bute Council has a staff member in Denmark, Orkney has an employee based in Ecuador, and Aberdeenshire Council supports one worker in France.
The Scottish Government said it is consistent with the rest of the UK civil service in accepting applications for periods of up to four weeks in a rolling 12-month calendar year.
It said it does not approve long-term remote working outside the UK.
A spokesman added: “Staff are expected to make all necessary arrangements to allow them to carry out their normal responsibilities while working overseas.”
Conversation