Michael Gove says Brits should work from home 'if possible' as Government ditches back to work drive

Watch: Michael Gove says people should now work from home if they can

Brits will be encouraged to work from home to help "if possible", Michael Gove has confirmed, in a major U-turn from the Government's back-to-work drive.

The Cabinet Office Minister said new measures, set to be announced today, will include "shift in emphasis" on advice about going back to the workplace.

Boris Johnson is set to address the nation on Tuesday evening, when he will set out tough new restrictions in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.

He had pushed to get Britons back into workplaces over the summer, in a bid to boost the pandemic-hit economy.

"If it is possible for people to work from home then we would encourage them to do so," Mr Gove told Sky News.

He added: "It's important to stress that there are many, many, many roles that can't be performed from home... there are people in manufacturing, construction, retail and other roles... we recognise it is simply impossible.

"That's why we have worked to ensure you can have Covid-secure workplaces.

"We need to balance the need for people to work and continue to go to school against taking steps to try and reduce the virus."

He continued: "If we can encourage people to work from home, we will, but if people need to be in the office, we will work to make it as safe as possible."

The Prime Minister started encouraging Brits to return to work in July as coronavirus lockdown restrictions were eased.

But, when pressed on BBC Breakfast, Mr Gove said this "messaging" has been ditched by the Government.

He said people should now work from home if they can to "restrain" social mixing as much as possible.

Watch: Is working from home affecting our mental health?

"If people can work from home, they should,” he told BBC Breakfast.

"But I stress that it’s very important that those people whose jobs require them to be in a specific workplace do so."

He added that it was not a case of "revisiting the days at the beginning of our response to this virus" as "workplaces are safer", adding: "But one of the risks that we have to face is that social mixing overall contributes to the spread of the virus.

"So as much as we can restrain that as possible at this stage, the better for all of us and for public health."

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Gove reiterated: "We are stressing that if it is safe to work in your workplace, if you are in a Covid secure workplace, then you should be there if your job requires it.

"But, if you can work from home you should."

Asked if that was a change, Mr Gove said “yes”.

Mr Gove said the Government was taking "reluctant steps" with the new coronavirus measures, but added that they are “absolutely necessary”.

"There will be more details that the Prime Minister will spell out, and again, one of the points that he’ll make is that no one wants to do these things, no one wants to take these steps," he told Sky News.

"They are reluctant steps that we’re taking, but they are absolutely necessary.

"Because as we were reminded yesterday, and as you’ve been reporting, the rate of infection is increasing, the number of people going to hospital is increasing, and therefore we need to act."

But Mr Gove was unable to say how long the new coronavirus measures are expected to last.

Watch: 10pm curfew for pubs and restaurants - but what other measures could Johnson announce later?

"What we hope is we can take appropriate steps now, which mean that if we succeed in beating back the virus, then we will in the future be able to progressively relax them,” he told BBC Breakfast.

"But what I can’t do is predict with absolute certainty."

Pressed on whether it would be months or weeks, Mr Gove said: “It is the case, as Professor Vallance and Chris Whitty pointed out yesterday, that we’re going to have a challenging next six months."

During a televised address at 8pm, the Prime Minister will emphasise the need for people to follow social-distancing guidance, wear face coverings and wash their hands regularly, and reportedly urge people to work from home where it does not hurt businesses.

Mr Johnson will chair meetings of Cabinet and the Cobra emergency committee – including the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – on Tuesday before the speech.

Under new restrictions set to be announced by the Prime Minister, pubs, bars and restaurants in England will be ordered to close by 10pm each night from Thursday.

A Number 10 spokesperson said: “No one underestimates the challenges the new measures will pose to many individuals and businesses.

“We know this won’t be easy, but we must take further action to control the resurgence in cases of the virus and protect the NHS.”

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