DfE operating model post-lockdown - note from Permanent Secretary

From: Mike Brennan
Permanent Secretary

Date: 7 July 2020

To: All DfE Staff

Decision for next six to twelve months

As we come out of the first wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Leadership Team have been considering how the Department will operate over the next six to twelve months. This is important for staff and for business areas so that we can plan how to conduct our business and personal lives in what continue to be uncertain times.

The Leadership Team has decided that where staff can work at home, they should do so, unless there is a business need for them to attend the office.

This decision is effective for the period up to 31 March 2021 and will be reviewed at the end of September 2020 in light of the prevailing situation at that point.

How the decision was made

We have taken into account the Public Health Agency guidance, which remains that if you can work at home, you stay at home. This is also reflected in the NI Executive’s Pathway to Recovery 5 Step Plan, which states at Step 5: “All able to return to work subject to mitigations. Remote working still strongly encouraged”.

In addition, we are cognizant that some 98% of DfE staff are now IT-enabled and that the results of the recent Pulse Survey demonstrated that 91% of staff found that working from home was working for them. We also recognise that there are factors outside our control, such as the availability of public transport, access to childcare and when and what circumstances children and other dependent family members can return to School and Day Care facilities.

Ensuring a safe working environment

We are aware that there are some Business Areas where there is a business need to attend the office, and this is already happening to a small extent, for example with OITFET. However, our approach will be to ensure that the smallest number of staff and visitors as possible attend our offices at any one time. We will also be working to find ways in which we can make some of our accommodation available to teams for induction, learning and syndicate-type work - all within a strictly controlled and safe working environment.

We recognise that working from home is not without its challenges and where any DfE staff member has a need, from a welfare or wellbeing perspective, to return to an office environment, we will make every effort to facilitate this in conjunction with their line management.

Digital support

I should stress that, in adopting this operating model, we recognise that there are actions the Department can take to continue to help staff adapt. For example, in addition to securing laptops and SRA enabled desktops, staff already have access to Cisco Jabber, BTMeetMe, WebEx and TMS video conferencing.

Please embrace these platforms to keep in touch with colleagues and with customers. It is vital for the work of the Department and for us all as individuals to keep in touch with, and support, each other and our customers as we adapt to a way of working that none of us could have envisaged at the start of 2020.

This has been the most difficult period in the professional and personal lives of many of us. As we continue to deliver DfE’s many essential services and the economy moves into recovery phase, we hope that this certainty on how we will approach what faces us in the next nine months will allow you to plan how best to adapt your own circumstances.

I remain overwhelmed by the resilience and commitment of you all in these challenging times.

Mike Brennan
Permanent Secretary