Policing minister Kit Malthouse said the Government did not have any intention to make it “compulsory” to return to the office but urged bosses to think about the progression of young people.
He said the Government will consult on flexible working to allow people to work from home “should they wish to”.
Mr Malthouse told Sky News: “Most of these situations can be sorted out between employees and employers.
“I have to say though, from a personal point of view, one of the things that we all need to bear in mind is it’s very hard for young people coming up through an organisation to learn remotely, to interact with their seniors and to learn from them and get nuance and have those casual conversations which help with their training and skillset — very hard remotely.”
Meanwhile another minister yesterday suggested that they wanted a “balanced return to work”.
Treasury minister Jesse Norman said: “The economy is bouncing back very quickly and we need to be able to safeguard and preserve that.”
Downing Street has said there are no plans to introduce a legal right to work from home but that the Government is consulting on making flexible working a “default option”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We’ve asked people to work from home where they can during the pandemic but there are no plans to make this permanent.”
But he added: “What we’re consulting on is making flexible working a default option unless employers have good reasons not to.”
