A leaked internal email that told staff working at the Government’s new headquarters that children were not permitted in the workplace was “certainly not Government policy”, an Assistant Chief Minister has said.
Deputy Malcolm Ferey, who is also Vice Chair of States Employment Board, said he would be drafting “something more appropriate” which “tells the reality of what the policy is”.
In the email, which was shared with Express this week, public sector staff were “asked to ensure they follow Government of Jersey guidelines regarding children in the office” to “maintain a professional environment” and “ensure the wellbeing of all staff and visitors”.
Employees were reminded of “flexible working policies policies to support staff in managing their work-life balance”, including remote working, flexible hours, annual leave, and special leave.
Deputy Ferey told members of the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel hearing on Friday that he had reviewed the email and while “it was well intended” it was “certainly not the government policy that children are not allowed in the building”.
“It was written, probably in haste, for one particular set of circumstances,” he said.
Deputy Ferey said children were “welcome” on the ground and first floors of Union Sreet and there were “safe areas” for them, as well as breastfeeding areas if mothers wanted privacy.
He noted that bringing a child into the office was not the “default position, but we will accommodate it where we have to”.
“We need to be flexible, of course, because we are a family-friendly employer,” he added.
Deputy Ferey explained that there were lots of options available to parents in emergency childcare situations, including working from home or taking emergency leave.
Panel chair Deputy Helen Miles also held up a print-out of the Express article during the hearing featuring the leaked email.
She said her panel had been trying to get a copy all week, but requests to Government had either been “rejected or ignored” and this was the only way they were able to source it.
Deputy Miles commented that the Government and Scrutiny process appeared to be “broken” in this case.
Deputy Ferey responded that he would have “happily” provided the panel with the email.