Bank of England Staff Spend Thousands Working Abroad Amid Economic Uncertainty

Bank of England staff spent a significant amount of time working overseas in 2025, taking advantage of a policy allowing them to work from abroad. According to figures released this year, over 1,000 employees used the scheme, which allows eligible staff to spend up to 40 days annually outside the UK. In total, these workers recorded 12,889 days working from foreign locations across the year.

The policy, intended for staff who temporarily work outside the UK, is available to around 5,500 employees at the central bank. This means roughly one in five eligible staff members chose to take advantage of it, with those participating spending an average of more than 12 days working abroad.

However, not everyone agrees that this policy is necessary or justifiable. Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said, 'The Bank should be focused on tackling inflation, not clocking up thousands of days working overseas.' Similarly, former Conservative MP Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg criticized the arrangement, stating, 'It is, after all, the Bank of England, not the Bank of Timbuktu.'