Devereux published the guidance on the department’s intranet, visible to DWP’s 70,000 staff, yesterday.
In the note, titled Scotland – referendum guidance, Devereux informed officials of the government’s “election guidance on the conduct of civil servants in the run-up to the referendum” and reminded civil servants of the UK government’s “clear position to maintain the union”.
He wrote that it “is legitimate and necessary for UK civil servants to support the government in this objective”.
CSW understands that the letter was passed to the BBC last night by a civil servant working at a Scottish job centre who felt that it told staff how to vote in the referendum.
But a spokeswoman for the department said that “of course the department has not told its staff, or anyone else, how to vote”, and that the memo had been “an open letter to all DWP staff setting out Scottish referendum guidance and the role of the civil service.”
The spokeswoman also said that “similar advice has been issued by the Scottish government.”
Asked by CSW whether the decision to remind staff of the UK government’s position on union had been based on a ministerial instruction, the spokeswoman said this was not the case and added that “it was a permanent secretary making sure that staff are aware of their responsibilities and the guidance.”
Dave Penman, general secretary of senior civil service union FDA, who is himself from Glasgow, said that the memo was “factually correct but ill-judged.”
He added that, given the sensitivity of the topic in Scotland, “people should have thought more carefully about how the memo was worded where it was issued to all staff.”