Hundreds of council staff allowed to work while on holiday abroad

Council staff at local authorities across the country have been given permission to work while on holiday abroad.

Analysis by the rightwing think tank the Taxpayers' Alliance found council bosses have granted more than 1,350 requests to work from overseas.

The number of requests being approved has also skyrocketed in recent years from 73 in 2020-21, to 440 in 2021-22, and 708 in 2022-23.

Locations approved included Spain, France, Australia, the US, Dubai, Cyprus, Brazil and the US.

The freedom of information request also found some employees have been allowed to work from a different country for long stretches.

An employee for Croydon Council allowed an employee to work abroad for 842 days over a three-year period.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, told the Times: "Hard-pressed households will be shocked by the number of public sector staff working from abroad.

"Residents forking out record rates expect officials to be using the office space taxpayers are footing the bill for.

"Council staff should get off the sun loungers and get back to town halls."The figures come as the debate around the future of working from home remains a political issue.

Both Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt have spoken against full-time working from home arrangements in the past.

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In May, Mr Hunt suggested businesses should make sure the "default" location for work was in the office.

He argued working from home stifled creativity due to the loss of "hose water cooler moments where they bounce ideas off each other."

Education Gillian Keegan recently found herself in hot water when it was revealed she "working from home" in Spain at the end of August, days before the Raac concrete crisis was announced.