2 July 2024
45 Pipitea Street, Thorndon, Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 495 7200
Fax +64 4 382 3589
Em
ail [email address]
Mama Dang
Webs
ite www.dia.govt.nz
[FYI request #27094 email]
Tēnā koe Mama Dang
Your Official Information Act request OIA 2324 - 1045
I write regarding your Official Information Act (the Act) request, which was received by the
Department of Internal Affairs (the Department) on 31 May 2024.
You have requested:
Can you please provide me the percentage of staff in the HR and Payroll teams who are working from
home under the following arrangements:
- wfh four times a week
- wfh and reporting only once a forthnight at the office
- wfh straight for at least two months now and not reporting on site even once
How do you ensure that staff working from home straight and not reporting for months on site are
working at most eight hours? How do you hold the managers of these people to account? How do
you manage their sick leave or annual leave.
Response to your request
The Department supports employees to consider flexible working options (which may include
working from home) that are positive for them, their team and the Department that helps us deliver
services to New Zealand. All employees have the opportunity to consider flexible working options
that fit their role and their team.
The Department has four flexible working guiding principles:
• Needs to work for everyone – all roles have the potential for different ways of working – it’s
not just ‘working from home’ as there are a range of valid flexible options for our people to
balance work and life. We also need to balance this with our people and teams to serve and
deliver for New Zealanders, communities and government.
• Not one-size-fits-all – the diversity of the Department’s mahi means that there aren’t set
rules for flexibility as ways of working will look different depending on the requirements of
the role or type of work our people do.
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• Part of who we are – our ways of working are important to our people (present and future) –
it’s central to our principles, behaviours and mātāpono, and to the Department being a high
performing organisation and great place to work.
• Leaders lead out – our leaders are supported to work with their people to agree –
arrangements that will work for individuals, teams and the organisation.
Flexible working arrangements within the Department may be informal or formal. Informal flexible
working is an occasional or casual arrangement, for example where there is a short-term change to
work location, or the days or hours of work. These are agreed between the employee and their
manager.
Formal flexible working arrangements are generally a longer-term or ongoing change of working
arrangements. These may change an employee’s terms and conditions of employment.
The Department does not centrally record information on the number of employees working from
home or the amount of time employees spend between working from home or working in the office.
The amount of time an employee works in the office or from home is determined by business
requirements and is agreed with their manager. This varies across the Department. Managers are
responsible for ensuring employees meet the requirements of their job. They do this through
discussing and agreeing performance objectives and then monitoring and reviewing these objectives
on a regular basis. Managers are also responsible for ensuring employees can complete the work
they are required to do within the normal working hours. Any sick leave or annual leave requests are
approved by an employee’s manager.
As the Department does not hold a central record of the amount of time people work from the office
or from home, we are refusing your request under section 18 (g) of the Act as the information you
have requested does not exist.
We intend to publish our response to your request on
www.dia.govt.nz. This letter, with your
personal details removed, will be published in its entirety. Publishing responses increases the
availability of information to the public and is consistent with the Act’s purpose of enabling more
effective participation in the making and administration of laws and policies and promoting the
accountability of Ministers and officials.
If you have any feedback or questions about the Department’s response, please let us know at
[email address]. If you have any concerns with the information in this response, you have a right to
request an investigation and review by the Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the Act. Information
on how to do this is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802.
Nāku noa
Simon George
General Manager, Pūmanawa Tangata – Human Resources
