Scottish Government officials won't be disciplined for refusing to go into the office, permanent secretary Joe Griffin has told MSPs.
Appearing at the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Public Administration Committee on Tuesday, Griffin was asked if officials would be disciplined for refusing to go into the office.
The Scottish Government permanent secretary replied: "No. We’re not on a simple refusal to come to the office. On that isolated matter, it might well be that, if you are in that situation, despite all the management conversations, in spite of the process that we are putting around it, it would depend a bit if there were other aspects in play, or how the posture of that individual was, the language that they were using and so on.
“But there isn't a sort of narrow trigger for somebody refusing to come into the office that would lead to disciplinary measures in and of itself."
Earlier on in the session, Griffin had explained the Scottish Government’s new hybrid working policy, which will mean civil servants will be asked to go into the office for 40% of their working week from October – with a move towards 60% also firmly on the cards.
Use of WhatsApp for government business 'is displicinary issue'
In the same session, Griffin was asked how he will ensure that the new ban on ministers and officials using WhatsApp, Signal and other non-corporate messaging services for government business is adhered to.
Griffin said the formulation of the policy has been clearly communciated to all civil servants and ministers, and that "like any corporate policy...there's an expectation that that will be followed".
Asked how compliance will be measured, he said WhatsApp will be removed from corporate devices, but added that there isn't a "specific enforcement or sort of checking system that we that we intend to put in place".
However, when asked if this means there is "nothing to stop" officials and ministers from continuing to use their personal devices to carry out government business, director general corporate Lesley Fraser said: "We've been very clear with colleagues that this would be a disciplinary matter."
She added: "We expect colleagues to follow our information management guidance and policy. So WhatsApp and such mobile messaging applications are now gone from government devices.
"Government business needs to be done on government devices for the benefit of security as well as traceability and accountability. So I think that message is well understood by colleagues, and colleagues are very keen to comply and to work with the new arrangements."
Fraser added that the government has improved the technology available to civil servants so they have access to Microsoft Teams, for example, "which fulfills many of the same functions but is safe, secure, traceable, accountable and so on".