§ 49. Sir C. CAYZERR asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he can issue a statement showing the present normal daily working hours of administrative, executive and clerical classes of the Civil Service, respectively, and the extent to which these vary in the different departments?
§ Major ELLIOTI am sending my hon. Friend copies of the published regulations containing information as to the hours required of the specific classes of civil servants to whom he refers. In general the relevant Order in Council requires an attendance of not less than seven hours a day. This is a minimum provision; the hours of attendance actually prescribed for most civil servants are in excess of seven, and many of those who are formally conditioned to seven hours habitually work a longer day without extra payment. It is estimated that not more than 10 per cent. of the whole Civil Service consists of persons who are conditioned to a seven-hour day.
§ Sir C. CAYZERIs it not a fact that in some Government Departments the hours of work are from 10 o'clock to 4 o'clock? Will the right hon. Gentleman review those hours of work and bring them more into accord with the hours worked in commercial establishments in order to reduce the staff wherever possible?
§ Major ELLIOTIn the first place, if the hon. Gentleman will give me details of any case he has in mind, I shall be glad to look into it, but I would remind him that the matter was very carefully gone into by the Royal Commission, and no recommendation on this point was brought forward by them. If one thing is to be reviewed, it may be necessary to review the scale of salaries also.
§ Sir WILLIAM WAYLANDHow many hours do they work on Saturday? The scale does not include seven hours on Saturday.
Viscountess ASTORIs it not true that they are always trying to compare brain work with manual work? Civil servants do brain work.
Duchess of ATHOLLIs it not a fact that attention was drawn in the Report of the Royal Commission on the Civil 1324 Service to the fact that there were certain grades of the Civil Service who were not working as long hours as prevailed in a good many private concerns?
§ Major ELLIOTAs the Noble Lady knows, many of the grades of Civil Service are under consideration by the Government and are about to be reviewed with the representatives of the staff side.