The beginning of the END: Canary Wharf chief says ‘gradual’ return to desks will start from March 29

The chief strategist at London’s Canary Wharf has said thousands of workers are expected to return to offices as Covid restrictions are eased in the coming months. Howard Dawber, Canary Wharf Group’s head of strategy, said they are expecting numbers to increase from March 29 and that this will increase when services such as bars, … Read more

Hammersmith and Fulham council BANS all staff from smoking at their desks while working from home

Labour-run Hammersmith and Fulham council bans all staff from smoking at their desks while working from HOME Council has banned staff from smoking even when they are working at home Hammersmith and Fulham council told staff ‘any part of a private dwelling used solely for work purposes will be required to be smoke-free’ Smoking ban … Read more

Boris Johnson orders civil servants to return to desks as officials try to lead from front

Get back to work! Boris Johnson orders civil servants to return to their desks as officials (belatedly) try to lead from the front Prime Minister set target of four in five workers to return to Whitehall each week   At beginning of lockdown there were 423,000 civil servants employed full time  In a letter to … Read more

Call for Britons to return to desks is paused until next week

A public information campaign urging people in Britain to get back to work following the coronavirus lockdown has had its first air date pushed back. The series of adverts encouraging people to return to offices was originally due to begin tomorrow, but it will not now start until next week at the earliest. The UK … Read more

Ministers hope office screening for coronavirus might get more people back at their desks 

Could testing in offices get the UK back to work? Ministers hope screening for coronavirus among staff might be the answer to getting more people back at their desks Routine testing could be carried out in offices and factories to combat Covid Firms that test employees could be exempt from future local lockdowns Law firm … Read more

First-grade Florida teachers transform their children’s desks into socially distanced JEEPS

Two first-grade teachers in Florida have sought to ease their student’s anxieties about returning to school this month amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic by transforming their school desks into little colorful Jeeps. Patricia Dovi, 35, and Kim Martin, 51, of St. Barnabas Episcopal School in DeLand, spent a week redesigning their student’s desks, which feature … Read more

Matt Hancock suggests ‘no excuse’ for people not to return to their desks

Health Secretary Matt Hancock suggests there is ‘no excuse’ for people not to return to their desks – claiming ‘relatively low’ number have caught coronavirus at work Matt Hancock says UK not planning to follow France’s lead on wearing of masks Masks or face coverings to be worn in all workspaces in France from September … Read more

Only one in seven civil servants working at the Cabinet Office are back at their desks, figures show

Only one in seven civil servants working at the Cabinet Office are back at their desks, new figures show Mail can reveal that just one in seven civil servants have returned to the office  This comes despite the Prime Minister asking people to stop working from home  Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘If civil servants don’t … Read more

The Whitehall workers who STILL aren’t back in office: Number of civil servants at desks plummets

The Whitehall workers who STILL aren’t back in the office: Number of civil servants at their desks plummets despite Government pleas for their return The largest drop was at the 800,000-square-foot Home Office headquarters Only one per cent of Dept for Education’s London workforce seen entering office The offices are understood to be running at … Read more

Union barons put the brakes on PM’s bid to get government staff back at desks by end of next week

Union chiefs have slammed Boris Johnson’s order to return thousands of civil servants to their desks and insisted they won’t be used ‘as an example to get everybody back to work’. The Prime Minister has told mandarins to tear up the ‘work from home’ guidance which has been in place since March and start getting officials back … Read more