Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much time off in lieu has been taken by staff in his Department in each of the last five years.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) has a Flexi-time policy, available for the use of all delegated grades and accessible on the Digital Workspace. This policy and the Department are compliant with the requirements of the Working Time Regulations 1998 in respect of civil servants’ working hours.

This policy allows DIT staff to take time off in lieu where they have worked extra hours. This is managed locally between employees and their line managers, whose responsibility it is to ensure that their staff are not working excessive hours.

Data on time off in lieu is not held centrally.

DIT is committed to supporting the wellbeing of all its members of staff and has appropriate policies in place to support this, alongside a departmental Health and Wellbeing Plan.