Bank of England Staff Spent Thousands of Days Working from Abroad

The Bank of England's policy of allowing employees to work from abroad has been criticized after new figures revealed that over 1,000 staff members took advantage of the scheme last year.

According to the data, a total of 5,500 employees are eligible for the overseas-working scheme, but only around one in five used it in 2023. On average, each employee worked abroad for just under two weeks, accumulating a total of over 12,800 days.

The policy has been criticized by some who claim that it could harm productivity and put confidential information at risk. Robert Jenrick, of Reform UK, said 'While inflation is set to spike and the economy is teetering on the brink of a recession, Bank of England officials are working from the beach.'

Shimeon Lee, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, also expressed concerns, stating that 'While families struggle with the cost of living, Bank staff are living it up overseas on taxpayer-funded tech.'