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<\/div>\nMinisters risk driving \u2018good people\u2019 out of Whitehall with their criticism of working at home, the first civil service commissioner has said.<\/strong><\/p>\n Baroness Gisela Stuart, who is tasked with overseeing civil service appointments, said she supported trade unions\u2019 criticism of Jacob Rees-Mogg\u2019s return-to-the-office drive. She said that publicly briefing against civil servants who worked from home was \u201cwrong\u201d.<\/p>\n Rees-Mogg, the minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency, has been accused by the FDA union of making \u201ccrass, condescending, passive aggressive\u201d attempts to drive staff back to their desks and of embarking on a \u201cculture war\u201d against civil service.<\/p>\n At the union\u2019s annual conference, Stuart said she was glad unions had spoken up about attacks on civil servants. \u201cWe should all speak up when we see integrity and professionalism being undermined,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not efficient to demotivate hundreds of thousands of public servants, simply so you can be the poster boy for the Daily Mail\u201d \u2013 Dave Penman, FDA union<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cTo my mind briefings and anonymous attacks, they\u2019re not just wrong, they\u2019re also counterproductive,\u201d she said, arguing that they \u201cprevent people who want to join the civil service \u2026 from wanting to be part of that system\u201d.<\/p>\n Stuart told union delegates: \u201cPoliticians can answer back when they feel they\u2019ve been unfairly attacked and criticised. Civil servants can\u2019t \u2026 you have to rely on us to make your case and to defend your professional integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n Criticism of civil servants should stay private, she said, in comments that were clearly critical of Rees-Mogg\u2019s stance.<\/p>\n \u201cThe minute you take an argument outside, I think you have a problem,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just have to keep saying, \u2018don\u2019t do it\u2019. Because the greatest danger is you keep [out] good people who want to enter public service \u2026 And that would be a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA, ministers had adopted a \u201cone-size-fits-all cap on flexible working that\u2019s being dictated by ministers\u201d.<\/p>\n He accused Rees-Mogg of \u201cwandering around Whitehall with his clip board and his clicker counting people at desks\u201d.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cIt\u2019s not efficient to demotivate hundreds of thousands of public servants, simply so you can be the poster boy for the Daily Mail.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it\u2019s not efficient to trash the civil service brand, putting off the very people you say you want to attract.\u201d<\/p>\n Penman mocked Rees-Mogg for leaving notes on empty desks that read: \u201cSorry you were out. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon\u201d and said he agreed with culture secretary Nadine Dorries that his behaviour was \u201cDickensian.\u201d<\/p>\n Penman added: \u201cRather than take that as a criticism, he took it as inspiration for his people management skills. That\u2019s why he left those crass, condescending, passive aggressive little notes for people who were actually delivering vital public services.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Penman, the government\u2019s behaviour was likely to put people off joining the civil service. He said ministers appeared to be telling potential recruits \u201ccome work in the civil service \u2014 be micro-managed, demeaned, thrown under a bus if its suits us, get paid a fraction of what you would get elsewhere and, of course, you can now forget about flexible working.\u201d He added: \u201cHis culture war against the civil service has to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n Rees-Mogg, interviewed by Robert Peston on ITV, added fuel to the row last night. He said: \u201cOne of the things that worries me about working from home is the desire for people to take Mondays and Fridays off to work from home. Because this indicates there is not a serious attitude to work, it\u2019s about extending the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking to John Pienaar on Times Radio in late April, Penman described how \u201cthe government, which used to actually be at the forefront of flexible working, is sounding like luddites, while the rest of the economy is embracing hybrid working\u201d.<\/p>\n\nLatest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today<\/h2>\n