Whitehall chief wins family-friendly timetable

17 Jan 02
Britain's first Asian permanent secretary, Suma Chakrabarti, broke more new ground this week by agreeing a family-friendly working week in his new job at the Department for International Development.

18 January 2002

Chakrabarti, 42, is also the youngest permanent secretary appointed to date.

He takes up his £120,000 a year post at the DfID next month, following stints at the Cabinet Office, the Treasury and the Performance and Innovation Unit.

Chakrabarti made his name at the PIU, where he was known as someone prepared to ditch Whitehall's traditional and arcane ways of working for more effective processes. He negotiated his working hours deal to ensure he spends time with his six-year-old daughter.

He arrives in the office at 9.30am so he can have breakfast at home and leaves at 5.30pm to see his daughter before bedtime. He also works at home every other Friday.

Chakrabarti stressed that he did not necessarily work less than other senior mandarins, just in a more flexible way.

And Downing Street rushed to defend his honour, describing Chakrabarti as 'an extremely talented civil servant'.

The prime minister's official spokesman said: 'I don't think the indicator of performance is necessarily the amount of time you spend in the office with your jacket over the back of the chair – it is what you deliver. We are confident he is the right man for the job.'

Chakrabarti is not alone in Whitehall. The equalities adviser at the Cabinet Office, Museji Ahmed Takolia, works a four-day week to ensure he maintains a family-friendly work-life balance.

A senior official at the Cabinet Office said: 'Managers have been banging on for years about the need to set an example of how Whitehall is open to family-friendly policies and flexible working.

'So far there has been little change but this is a real boost.'

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