The top ranks of the civil servants at the Home Office face a major shake up with officials forced to work some weekends and be subject to performance reviews, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The changes have been agreed between Patel and Matthew Rycroft, the department's permanent secretary, in an attempt to draw a line under a recent investigation into Patel’s alleged bullying of subordinates.
The new rules will allow Patel to speak directly to junior officials who have the most up-to-date knowledge about the work of her department without going through senior civil servants.
One source told the Telegraph: "National security is not 9-til-5", adding that on some weekends Patel had found that "she was driving the ship completely". They added: "That is changing."
A former adviser told the outlet: "The snowflakes in the civil service would regularly complain about working even five minutes more than their allotted hours.
"Their chief complaint appears to be having to work over a weekend when they’re on call, despite this being their job."
Under the new way of working, Patel will be given a dedicated team of officials who she can lean on for support at weekends when other civil servants have gone home.
The top ranks of civil servants at the Home Office will also be required to face performance reviews.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has backed Patel over the bullying allegations, telling MPs over WhatsApp to 'form a square around the Pritser', according to the Spectator.
Tory MP’s have also backed Patel on social media.
Tom Tugendhat says Patel is 'hard working, determined and has been very kind to many'.
The reason @pritipatel has support across @Conservatives is because she’s hard working, determined and has been very kind to many. She knows her own mind was a great asset to @CommonsForeign and is doing a tough job in @ukhomeoffice.
— Tom Tugendhat (@TomTugendhat) November 19, 2020
Dehenna Davison said that Patel is ‘one of the kindest, most supportive people I've met'.
Since I entered Parliament, @pritipatel has been one of the kindest, most supportive people I've met. I've lost count of how often she's found time in her hectic diary to discuss local issues and even just to check in and see how I'm doing, or offer advice on being a new MP.
— Dehenna Davison MP (@DehennaDavison) November 19, 2020
