ECONOMIC GROWTH

The challenge of managing the return to the civic centre

By and large, civic centre workers made a successful transition to home working, says Michael Burton. But councils will equally want to ensure that reducing their office space does not further reduce footfall in their town centres, he adds.

It is traditional at this time of year for Government – central and local – to draw breath and step briefly away from the cares of office, sun-kissed beaches beckoning. Of course, this year is like no other, apart perhaps from the last one, although there is a sense that we have adjusted to living with COVID long-term thanks to the vaccines and can start planning a return to some normality.

Returning to work is like no other year either. Like hundreds of employers, local authorities are now grappling with how to manage their return to work policies as staff come back from summer holidays, and from 1 October furlough ends.

Michael Burton

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