SNP's top civil servant 'not scared' of unions despite not monitoring workers' return to office
Top civil servant admits Scottish government workers are not being monitored over their office working after a ‘compromise’ with trade unions
Scotland's most senior civil servant has denied being “scared” of trade unions after admitting Scottish government workers are not being monitored over a promised return to office working.
In October last year, the Scottish government introduced a requirement for civil servants to work from the office for at least 40 per cent of their hours - regarded as two days a week for full time staff.
But permanent secretary, Joe Griffin, has admitted to MSPs that the Scottish government does not know how many civil servants are meeting the requirement after coming to an agreement with trade unions not to monitor individual workers.
“We are not monitoring individuals,” Mr Griffin told Holyrood’s finance committee.
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He added: “We wanted to proceed as best we could in agreement with the unions. Part of the nature of that agreement was that we would not be monitoring individuals.
“This is not, in its origin, a punitive approach. This is not something that speaks of distrust of people working hard. We think this is a positive thing.
“We want to encourage people to be present with their colleagues and indeed, to work with stakeholders.”
Mr Griffin pointed to high occupancy levels in some Scottish government buildings, including a rise from 34 per cent at St Andrew’s House in February 2025 to 60 per cent in February 2026. The permanent secretary argued this increase shows progress, suggesting there has been a “palpable change in the atmosphere”.
SNP convener of the committee, Kenny Gibson, branded the revelation that Scottish government staff office attendance is not being monitored as “extraordinary”.
He said: “It’s only two days out of a five-day working week, so why is it so onerous? Pre-pandemic, everybody worked in the office, did they not?
“I would have thought you would indeed be monitoring that.
“It’s not healthy sitting in your house all the time working. For me, the fridge would be the big problem because I would be raiding it every 10 minutes. I’m struggling to understand what’s going on here.”
Mr Griffin said that officials “wanted to proceed in a way that respected the partnership with colleagues in the unions” adding that led to “some compromises”.
He added: “Fundamentally, we do need to get the value from this arrangement.
“We are not monitoring individuals. I think at a management level, there would be a sense of how the team is operating. Within that team, it would be noticeable if an individual of that team were not engaging in what the team had agreed. There isn’t a specific taking a register style approach
“It was not intended as a punitive measure or to check up on people. I don't think the setting has an intrinsic relationship to people’s work rate.
“The judgement, for now, is that we need to work in partnership with the unions and that has led to taking an approach I sense a number of the members of the committee are not comfortable with. I understand that.”
Addressing Mr Griffin, Scottish Conservative MSP, Craig Hoy, said: “Are you scared of the public sector unions on this?”
“I’m not scared,” replied Mr Griffin.
“I think it’s important for us to try and proceed in partnership and agreement. I think there’s a lot of change we need to realise over the coming years and I think there’s a premium on doing that together.”
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