See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy KRISTINA WEMYSS, GENERAL NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:03 BST, 4 June 2026 | Updated: 16:11 BST, 4 June 2026
Bank of England staff have been told to work from ‘desks, not sun loungers’, after it emerged they can work from abroad for two months a year.Around 6,000 employees are eligible to do their job overseas - and in the UK, they can work from home three days a week.The policy has sparked outrage amid the Bank's failure to keep inflation at 2 pc and persistently high interest rates.Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said employees should be doing their jobs from ‘their desks, not their sun loungers’.‘Hard-working families paying rising taxes, and struggling to afford a holiday, will be angry that public servants are soaking in the sun while on the clock.‘Under Labour, public servants are working fewer hours for the same pay.’Meanwhile, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former minister for government efficiency, said staff should not be allowed to ‘swan off abroad’.He said: ‘The Bank of England has failed in its main task of keeping inflation around 2 pc. Around 6,000 Bank of England employees are eligible to do their job overseas - and in the UK, they can work from home three days a week‘Instead of allowing people to swan off abroad, risking confidential information, it ought to focus on its main responsibility.‘If people can work from holiday homes for eight weeks of the year, are they really needed or could their salaries be saved?’The Bank’s latest staff handbook says it is ‘committed to supporting colleagues working flexibly and allows colleagues to work from abroad for a maximum of 40 working days a year’.Employees are, however, restricted on taking devices such as laptops, iPads and mobile phones into certain countries.The backlash comes amid wider scrutiny of flexible working practices. In February, it was reported that some NHS GPs were treating patients remotely while based overseas, including in Australia, India and Malaysia.And last year, it emerged that civil servants had been granted permission to work from abroad more than 2,000 times since 2019.The Bank of England’s first Forecast Evaluation Report - released in February - found that its forecasts for inflation and wage growth had ‘proved repeatedly too low’ since 2022.Inflation fell to 2.8pc in April, but it is expected to rise to around 4pc later this year as the Iran war pushes up the cost of energy for households and businesses, according to forecaster Capital Economics.A Bank spokesman said its working from abroad policy is ‘designed to support staff who wish to temporarily work outside of the UK.‘This is subject to time limits and other requisite and reasonable conditions, such as security-related restrictions.’
