Staff permitted to work abroad

FOI ref: FOI-2023-1350

You asked

This is an information request relating to the number of staff who are allowed to work from abroad. Please include the following information, for the 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 financial years:

• The number of staff, per year, given permission to work from abroad

• For each member of staff granted permission, please provide their pay band, the country they have been allowed to work from, the length of time that they have been allowed to work for and the dates they were allowed to work from abroad

• Please also provide the reason

We said

Thank you for your request. 

We do not record data relating to staff working abroad in a format that allows for the questions to be responded to exactly. In addition, we have only recorded data for official travel since 2022 and personal travel since 2023.

We have recorded data relating to travel for official work purposes for the last two years and for the last year relating to travel for personal reasons where ONS IT equipment has been requested to facilitate working abroad. 

Our staff are granted permission to work aboard to undertake their official duties for the organisation, such as engagements with another statistical organisation, international development with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and partner countries or representing ONS internationally. Staff are usually not permitted to work abroad whilst traveling for personal reasons, in very rare circumstances somebody may be permitted to work from abroad to undertake critical business operations, but this will only be when no other solution is available and will only be for the shortest possible time. 

Outside of these granted exceptions staff are prohibited from working outside the UK and there are technical controls in place so equipment cannot be used aboard.

The following information relates to ONS staff travelling for official work purposes.

2022

• SCS 1 - 4 

• Grade 6 - 18 

• Grade 7 - 31 

• SEO - 15 

• HEO - 3 

• SRO - 1 

• National Statistician - 1 

• Perm Sec - 1 

2023

• SCS 1- 10 

• Grade 2 - 1 

• Grade 6 - 17 

• Grade 7 - 32 

• SEO - 21 

• HEO - 7 

• RO - 1 

• SRO - 7 

• National Statistician - 1 

• Perm Sec - 1 

During this 2-year period staff have been approved to work in the following countries:

• Argentina 

• Australia 

• Austria 

• Belgium 

• Botswana 

• Brazil 

• Canada  

• Chile 

• Colombia 

• Cote D'Ivoire 

• Dubai 

• Egypt 

• Ethiopia 

• France 

• Germany 

• Ghana 

• Greece 

• Indonesia 

• Israel 

• Italy 

• Japan 

• Jordan 

• Kazakhstan 

• Kenya 

• Lebanon 

• Lithuania 

• Luxembourg 

• Malawi 

• Mexico 

• Nairobi 

• Namibia 

• Netherlands 

• Nigeria 

• Norway 

• Palestine 

• Poland 

• Portugal 

• Qatar 

• Rwanda 

• Saudi Arabia 

• Singapore 

• South Africa 

• South Korea 

• Switzerland 

• Tanzania 

• Thailand 

• Turkey 

• UAE 

• Uganda 

• United States of America 

• Zambia 

• Zimbabwe

The following information relates to ONS staff travelling for personal reasons, and have been permitted to take ONS equipment to undertake critical business operations:

2023

• SCS 1 - 1 

• Grade 6 - 2 

• Grade 7 - 7 

• SRO - 1 

During this period staff have been approved to work in the following countries: 

• Lithuania  

• Greece 

• Italy 

• Lithuania 

• Malawi 

• Netherlands 

• New Zealand 

• Poland 

• United States 

Please see the associated download named 'FOI-2023-1350 - Length of time abroad' for information about the length of time staff spent working abroad.

The information requested regarding the dates individuals have worked abroad has been withheld under s.40(2), as this is personal data.