Concerns have been raised that a consultation on whether to permanently allow Ceredigion County Council staff to work from home did not include asking the public.

At a Cabinet meeting on 5 September, members gave the go-ahead to allow staff to continue to work from home by making a temporary hybrid working policy introduced in 2021 into a permanent fixture.

The move, a leftover from the pandemic when offices were shut, was backed by the vast majority of staff in a survey, but councillors have raised concerns over the plans that leave council offices almost empty making staff harder to get hold of, and those watching the meeting being livestreamed on Facebook commented it was “important” that the public should have been consulted before the policy was pushed through.

Cllr Gareth Lloyd told the meeting that the public’s opinion should be sought after the arrangements are in place permanently.

“It will be interesting to see what the public’s opinion is of hybrid working,” he said

Despite the concerns, and two thirds of Cambrian News readers wanting staff to return to offices, Cabinet members unanimously approved the move.

Council leader Cllr Bryan Davies told the meeting that “hybrid working will attract more people to come and work for the council.”

“We have to listen to what staff are telling us in these surveys,” he added.

A report put before member said: “A total of 870 responses were received resulting in a response rate of 75 per cent and all service areas were well represented.

“The results will show there is an overwhelming majority who have seen hybrid working as a positive experience and support the continuation of hybrid working as a permanent option.

“In their survey responses employees and their line managers identified that they are as or more productive working from home than they are in the workplace.”

Cabinet members unanimously approved the move to “adopt hybrid working as a permanent option for employees able to work as efficiently remotely as in the office”, and “to develop a Hybrid Working Policy to replace the current Interim Hybrid Working Policy.”