Yesterday (Wednesday), the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) addressed a circular to all ministries and federal entities regarding implementing flexibility of remote working for federal government employees on Fridays, to ensure continuity of service provision, and the federal government’s proper functioning during the implementation of the remote working system.
The circular came based on the new system of weekly work in the federal government sector, which start at the beginning of this year, in light of the directives issued by the competent authorities and based on Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2020 regarding the remote working system in the federal government as amended.
In its circular No. (2) of 2022, the Authority specified a set of controls that ministries and federal entities should abide by, when allowing some employees to work remotely on Friday, these include certain conditions: the job and incumbent must fulfill the conditions and controls of remote working in the federal government. The federal entity must select the appropriate jobs for working remotely, through coordination with the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, provided getting the employee’s acceptance through his/her line manager regarding working remotely on Fridays, in coordination with the department director HR department in the workplace.
In the circular, the Authority stated the necessity of having a sufficient number of employees at the federal entity’s headquarters to ensure the continuity of providing services to customers, with the number of employees who work from office is not less than 70% of the total employees in the federal entity. Priority should be given for employees whose workplaces are far from the place of residence to work remotely, in addition, it must be taken into account any other humanitarian conditions that employees may face in this aspect. The HR departments in the ministries and federal entities take over the task of supervising the rotation between employees in the organizational units of the entity who meet the conditions for remote work.
The Authority confirmed that it has re-engineered the HR Management Information System in the Federal Government "Bayanati", in accordance with the provisions of this circular for all operators of the system, so as to automate and facilitate the process for the employees applying for remote working on Fridays.