Tory ministers have been blasted as "out of touch" over calls for civil servants could have their pay cut for continuing to work from home.
A drive to get Whitehall officials back into the office this autumn was plunged into chaos after conflicting messages from top Tories over the policy.
An unnamed Cabinet minister suggested that civil servants should have their pay slashed if they refuse to return to their desks, with one department expressing alarm over the numbers of officials in the office.
But Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said Government "diktats" were a bad idea and Downing Street dismissed the idea of imposing pay cuts.
Union bosses said the comments were "insulting" to workers, while Labour branded ministers "out of touch".
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The row comes as it emerged the Government was planning a big push to get people back into the office from the autumn as hopes mount that the pandemic is receding.
The unnamed minister told the Daily Mail: "People who have been working from home aren't paying their commuting costs so they have had a de facto pay rise, so that is unfair on those who are going into work.
"If people aren't going into work, they don't deserve the terms and conditions they get if they are going into work."
Bosses find it difficult to know if someone at home was working or watching TV, the minister said.
"I think people who want to get on in life will go into the office because that's how people are going to succeed," they added.
Unions hit back at the blunt comments, saying that the pandemic had proved that remote working could be effective.
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA civil service union, said: "These insulting comments from ministers and politicians only demonstrate that they are out of touch with modern working practices.
"Across the economy - in both the private and public sectors - employers are embracing hybrid working, which provides greater work-life balance for employees and reduced office costs for employers.
"Only last week, the Government announced that due to hybrid working, an additional eight Government departments could now move into the new civil service hub in Leeds.
"As the last 18 months has demonstrated, there are many tasks that can be done just as effectively whilst working remotely.
"Indeed, the Government's own flagship Places for Growth strategy - moving civil service jobs out of London - was already predicated on at least 40% of these being done remotely, and that was before Covid.
"What should matter to ministers is whether public services are being delivered effectively, not where individual civil servants are sitting on a particular day."
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted: "They are so out of touch!
"Exactly when we need the greatest work from public servants to get the country and NHS through the winter, the Tories instead choose to pick a fight because they're too old-fashioned to understand flexible working."
In a contradictory message, Mr Kwarteng said it was for businesses to decide how workers return to the office.
He told the Today programme: "So, I think flexible working is something that is here to stay, but I've always said that I think it's up to employers and employees to come to their own arrangements depending on the needs of the company and the needs of the business.
"I don't think it makes sense to have a Government diktat telling people exactly how many hours they're going to spend in the office and exactly how many hours they're going to spend at home... I'll be encouraging them (BEIS civil servants) to come in, but of course again there'll be a degree of flexibility and that's what we're working to achieve."
The Prime Minister's official spokesman slapped down unnamed ministers over the prospect of cutting pay and said the Government was seeking to encourage the gradual return of officials to their desks.
"As with other employers, the Civil Service is following the latest Government guidance which involves gradually and cautiously increasing the number of staff working in the office," the spokesman said.
"There is no suggestion of going beyond that. We want to encourage people to work in a safe way but flexible working is, rightly, here to stay."
Asked about reported comments of an unnamed Cabinet minister calling for pay cut for those who refuse to go into the office, the spokesman said: "We have no plans for that approach."
Skills minister Gillian Keegan estimated around 25% of staff were in each day in the Department for Education last week.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health has reportedly axed plans to require staff to be based partly in the office in September.
In an announcement seen by The Guardian, DHSC's director of workplace and director of HR said "it's clear that we cannot proceed with this phase on the planned timescale".
A Government spokesperson said: "The Civil Service continues to follow Government guidance, as we gradually and cautiously increase the number of staff working in the office.
"Our approach, which builds on our learning during the pandemic, takes advantage of the benefits of both office and home-based working across the UK."
