NICOLA Sturgeon has rejected following a similar back-to-work scheme as England, saying she will not allow people to be intimidated into their offices before the time is right.
Since March, coronavirus guidance in Scotland has stated people should work from home where possible.
While the Scottish Government has provided a detailed routemap out of the Covid-19 lockdown, ministers are yet to announce a date when non-essential offices can reopen.
The UK Government has launched a campaign to get workers in England back into their offices, asking employers to reassure their staff that it is safe to return by highlighting measures in place to limit the spread of coronavirus.
READ MORE: Daily Mail writer who works from home tells Brits to get back in the office
Today’s Telegraph splash reads: “Go back to work or risk losing your job.”
Unions and opposition parties have called on the Tory Government to rule out any campaign suggesting people could lose their job if they don’t want to go back to their office.
Scotland’s First Minister was asked about Scotland’s plan for getting people back into offices during today’s coronavirus briefing.
“Firstly these will be decisions for the Scottish Government to take as part of our routemap out of lockdown,” Sturgeon said.
While she said “we want to get back to normal as quickly as possible”, she added this is an opportunity for “all of us to decide what we want normal to look like in the future”.
“I think flexibility and how people work and allowing people to strike better work/life balances, we should perhaps think about grasping those opportunities,” she told viewers.
The First Minister stressed that work to get people back into offices “has to be done in the context of continuing to suppress the virus” – and that at the moment it is thought that asking people to pile back onto public transport to go into work would risk Scotland’s progress with Covid-19 as well as the country’s ability to keep schools open
READ MORE: Coronavirus in Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon confirms another 51 cases
She went on: “My final point would be this,” she said. “I will not countenance in Scotland any kind of narrative around this, that is seeking to almost kind of intimidate people back to work before as a country we have taken a decision that that is safe.
“People should not be told if you don’t get back to work in an office right now, if you’re still working from home, you might be at greater risk of being made redundant or sacked. I don’t think that is the kind of approach that we want to take here.”
The First Minister said businesses should be able to look to the Scottish Government to understand what they should be doing, and she will continue to do her best to lead the country through this difficult time while keeping the virus under control.
“If we don’t do that bit the game’s a bogey on everything else,” she concluded.
The UK Government’s call for people to get back into offices comes after England recorded its highest number of new daily coronavirus infections since mid-June.
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