There seems to be a bit of confusion in the Minns family, after the uncle of Premier Chris Minns told staff in the NSW Ministry of Health that flexible work arrangements are “not changed” by the Premier’s announcement earlier in the week.
On Monday, the NSW government issued a new directive to employees in the sector to work “principally” from their on-site workplace, moving away from working from home arrangements that were made more prominent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But according to a report from The Daily Telegraph, Phil Minns, who is the NSW Ministry of Health deputy secretary of people, culture and governance – and is also Chris Minns’ uncle – sent an email to his staff to say the mandate wouldn’t impact flexible work.
“Please note the availability of flexible work arrangements are not changed by this circular,” the email reportedly read.
“In line with most contemporary workplaces, we recognise flexible arrangements help attract and retain talented people, particularly with career responsibilities and other commitments outside of work.”
Premier Chris Minns spoke with Ben Fordham on 2GB radio this morning to clear up the confusion, saying his uncle may have been referring to flexible work arrangements that were not COVID-related.
“All I can say is I think Phil is referring to the existing arrangements that have been negotiated between the union and government for decades, so that might be job sharing arrangements, early departure times to pick up the kids, but that’s not related to the Covid measures,” the Premier said.
“The working-from-home COVID measures and the changes the government announced as of Monday apply to the provisions that were brought in during a health crisis which obviously no longer apply.”
The Premier, who described his uncle as a “good uncle” and a “good man”, confirmed that the mandate sent out to staff on Monday morning was a “government wide” mandate.
As the biggest employer in the country, with over 400,000 staff, this new move from the Minns government has come with divided opinions and may make workers across the state rethink their positions.
Hybrid working arrangements for public servants in NSW were first implemented in 2019, and since then, the majority of workers still spend some time working from home. This has led to a quieter Sydney CBD, where the office vacancy rate is rising and currently sits at 11.6 per cent, according to the latest Property Council of Australia’s office market report.
In June of last year, female unemployment fell to an all-time low of 3.3 per cent, following the shift in more people working from home.