Around 800 council employees in one Greater Manchester borough will continue working from home indefinitely under a new policy.
The announcement was made by Bury Council, as the public body adapts to changing methods of working.
The changes are set to generate more than £5M for the council by selling buildings and office areas which are no longer needed.
It will also reduce utility bills.
The council’s ‘agile working’ policy, which will transform the way white collar authority staff operate, will start on July 19 and be reviewed at the end of the year.
Staff whose job is not location specific will be allowed to work remotely.
A meeting of the council’s employment panel heard that the scheme is voluntary but has been given overwhelming backing by staff.
Members were told that of 1,000 eligible staff, 800 will take up the offer.
The remaining 200 have expressed a preference to be office based, five days a week.
Where the role allows, staff will be given the option to spend the majority of their working time from home.
The remainder of time would be spent at one or more ‘hub’ sites.
A report to the committee set out the benefits of the scheme.
It stated: “The fundamental principle that work is something you do, not somewhere you go.
“Therefore no quotas for work in specific locations are proposed.
“The benefits include a reduction in running costs as well as a medium term saving from asset disposal, including a potential £5m of one-off capital receipt identified from the disposal of unused buildings.
“The reduction in absence experienced over the last months is forecast to continue and there will be greater workforce productivity by allowing people to work at a time and place that suits them.”
Earlier work on the policy revealed that only the ground floor and 50 per cent of the first floor of Bury Town Hall are currently fit to be worked in as the roof of the building is in disrepair.
Coun Roger Brown expressed concerns that the changes could have an effect on younger workers.
He said: “There could be a reduced ability for new or more junior staff to learn and develop.
“There will be no opportunity of a colleague leaning across a desk to ask something or learn from another team member.”
Deputy chief executive Lynne Risdale was questioned about the £5M savings and the effect on council buildings and assets.
She said: “The ambition around the £5M estate saving is absolutely real.
“We have a framework to drive efficiency and reduce the use of our assets.
“The figure has been drawn from an analysis of our estates.
“It is believed that there is that volume of savings in our disused building.
“I would say we could even go a little bit further because at the moment we have occupied buildings that agile working should allow us to collapse down as well if we can be more efficient within our space.”
