A GOVERNMENT minister has said getting workers back to the office has never been their goal, despite mixed messages from UK counterparts.

Speaking at the coronavirus press conference for Wales, First Minister Mark Drakeford said that workers who are able to remain remote should do so.

He said: “We will reinforce our message for people to work from home wherever possible. It has never been our policy for people to return to their workplaces in Wales if they can continue to work successfully from home or remotely.

“Many of you will have heard the message from across our border to get back to the office, this is not and never has been our message in Wales. The fewer people with whom we come into contact with, the lower the risk of the virus spreading.”

The First Minister’s message is in stark contrast to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson who has urged people to return to work in office settings in recent weeks.

Guidance from the Welsh Government website states that the most effective way of minimising the risk of exposure to coronavirus in workplaces is “to enable some or all staff to work from home, as often as possible”.

It goes on to read: “As ‘reasonable measures’ there is an expectation that employers should be flexible and make adjustments wherever that is possible to enable that to happen.

“This may include issuing staff with laptops and mobile phones and facilitating communication from wherever members of staff may be.”

The spokesman states that employees should not be placed under pressure to return to a workplace setting if there is not a clearly demonstrated business need for them to do so.