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Revealed: Civil servants get extra three days holiday 
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Revealed: Civil servants get extra three days holiday if they work over 36 hours a week
Details of the generous terms available to Whitehall officials were leaked in an escalation of the increasingly tense relationship between ministers and civil servants. A growing number of officials are understood to be working nine-day fortnights by cutting short their lunch breaks and extending normal hours by staying in their offices until 6pm. Civil servants are also allowed to count delays in arriving for work because of late trains or traffic congestion towards their contracted working week.

Many of these working practices would not be permitted in the private sector, where most people are contracted to work up to 40 hours a week or more. A government source said: “Most Fridays, some departments are like ghost towns. It is a very generous system with hardly any controls.”

Last night Whitehall sources said that these “anomalies” would be addressed in a forthcoming Cabinet Office plan to reform the Civil Service. One aide said: “When we came into office we inherited various arrangements from the last government. We are reviewing these to ensure that they are reasonable and sensible.”

Details of the “flexitime” arrangements are contained in leaked Whitehall documents that lay bare the generous nature of the taxpayer-funded contracts.

They are likely to provoke anger in the private sector after senior ministers including William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said companies should “work harder” to help boost the economic recovery.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... qus_thread

I'll declare an interest here and say that I work in the civil service, but this article really is shoddy journalism. Can anyone explain to me how working extra hours so that you can take the time off in lieu equates to getting "three extra days holiday"?

Some of the comments are even more laughable, presumably none of commenters have worked in the civil service and thus have no understanding of the work at all. Apparently I sit there and do nothing all day, if only!

For clarity, the standard working week in the civil service is 37 hours, this does not include lunch breaks (which are 36 minutes, giving a 40 hour week in total). If you work more than this, then you can accumulate time which can be taken off at a later date, we call this "flexi". The maximum "flexi" you can accumulate is three days (depending on your standard weekly hours), or you can go up to three days into deficit - if you do this time must be made up within four weeks (the standard "flexi period"). Many business streams, such as letters and forms have "core hours" i.e. the minimum number of hours you can put in a day/week before even considering taking flexi, this is to try and keep turnaround times down.

All of that strikes me as perfectly reasonable, am I wrong?

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Sat May 19, 2012 6:42 pm
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I remember flexi time from my time at the DHSS. I had a few days off because of it, but mostly it meant a lie-in or a mission to Harrow and the comic shop once a week.

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Sat May 19, 2012 6:45 pm
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Worked for a local council back in the 80's and we had flexi-time. It was based around a core period of 10am to 3pm, so if you worked that day, you had to be in for that time, but you could work within the hours of 8am to 7pm. Excellent idea and one I have missed in all my subsequent jobs.

If You are employed to work 40 hours, and work those hours in 4 days, why shouldn't you take a three day "weekend?"


Sat May 19, 2012 7:44 pm
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My brother had flexitime when he worked for GSK so it's not like it's limited to the civil service.
Hardly any surprise this was published in the Torygraph

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Sun May 20, 2012 11:42 am
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I know of no company that allows you to count traffic problems to count to your working time?

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Sun May 20, 2012 12:01 pm
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bobbdobbs wrote:
I know of no company that allows you to count traffic problems to count to your working time?

Neither does the civil service, that part of the article is [LIFTED].

You can, in extenuating circumstances (and only with manager approval) get credit if you're late due to extreme weather (heavy snow etc). However, even if you're granted the credit (which is by no means guaranteed), if the adverse weather continues you're expected to alter your journey times every subsequent day as you won't get another credit.

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bobbdobbs wrote:
I know of no company that allows you to count traffic problems to count to your working time?

bus drivers.


Sun May 20, 2012 4:23 pm
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jonbwfc wrote:
bobbdobbs wrote:
I know of no company that allows you to count traffic problems to count to your working time?

bus drivers.

:lol:
touche

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jonbwfc wrote:
bobbdobbs wrote:
I know of no company that allows you to count traffic problems to count to your working time?

bus drivers.


Boss: Why are you late???
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Civil servants are also allowed to count delays in arriving for work because of late trains or traffic congestion towards their contracted working week.

That's the part I have a problem with. If you arrive late, you should work late.

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Mon May 21, 2012 6:49 pm
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l3v1ck wrote:
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Civil servants are also allowed to count delays in arriving for work because of late trains or traffic congestion towards their contracted working week.

That's the part I have a problem with. If you arrive late, you should work late.

See post above, it's just not true.

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Mon May 21, 2012 9:40 pm
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