Ministry of Justice

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) adopted a flexible working policy in 2002 which goes further than the legislation by allowing all staff to apply for flexible working options, not just parents.

Recent changes in the HQ estate mean that a flexible workspace approach has been implemented, providing desks for 80% of HQ staff, rather than a desk for everyone. This ratio may be reduced further as the estates transformation programme consolidates their building portfolio. This idea to maximise the use of space works partly because of the wide range of flexible working arrangements on offer including home / remote working, compressed hours, part-time working etc. (in addition to staff absences on annual / special / sick leave, attendance at other sites, conferences and so on.)

MoJ makes use of a variety of technology e.g. providing remote broadband access to internal IT systems, spider phones in larger meeting rooms and some telephones that support teleconferencing. MoJ is currently operating two pilots of desk to desk video (Microsoft Office Communication Server) and audio conferencing involving up to 1,200 users across the estate. This has proven successful in supporting remote working and MoJ is exploring ways of making greater use of this technology. A number of HQ staff also have BT Meet Me accounts managed through their expenses.

MoJ has a significantly sized video conferencing network with over 2500 video end points across the estate. The majority of these support a range of operational activities across courts, prisons, probation offices and police stations. Significant efforts have been made in recent years to improve the uptake of these services, and training on the use of videoconferencing is boosting frequency of use.

If you would life any more information on how the Ministry of Justice has implemented flexible working, call 020 3334 3555 or email [email protected]

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