Dublin City Council to spend €200,000 to provide chairs for 800 employees to work remotely

Dublin City Council are to provide office chairs to staff who work remotely as part of its "blended working programme for employees”.

Dublin City Council is to spend close to €200,000 on providing 800 employees with office chairs in their homes so they can work remotely.

The council has issued a request for tender, which states the maximum spend will not exceed €190,000 excluding VAT, but this figure is for guidance only.

The agreement concerns the supply and distribution of single office chairs to about 800 homes across Leinster and surrounding regions, with a potential average cost of almost €240 per chair.

This is, the Dublin City Council tender documents say, part of its "blended working programme for employees”.

In May, it was reported that Dublin City Council staff were told to return to the office full-time by June 7.

On return, employees were offered the choice of working in council offices or working on a so-called “blended” mix of in-office and at-own home working.

Blended working arrangements

Applications from those opting for blended working arrangements were due to start a short while later before being put in place around July or August.

The Programme for Government makes a commitment to mandate public sector employers, colleges, and other public sector bodies to move to 20% home and remote working and to provide incentives for private-sector employers to do likewise.

With 5,900 employees, the chair contract caters for 13.5% of council staff.

Unions have said earlier this year they expect blended working to play “a big part in future work organisation” in Dublin City Council and other local councils.

The initial contract requirement will be for the supply and delivery of 400 office chairs.

All chairs must be assembled by the supplier prior to their delivery to the employee's premises and all supply and delivery costs will have to be included in any prospective suppliers' tender price.

“The successful tenderer will be required to provide a notification, either text or email to the employee on the day prior to delivery,” the tender notes state.

The successful tenderer will be required to provide a 60-minute notification to the employee prior to delivery within which time they will deliver the chair. 

Whoever wins the contract will have to deliver 400 chairs in the first four weeks of the contract, with a further 100 being assembled and delivered in each of the next four weeks.

The chairs must be “stable and allow the user easy freedom of movement and a comfortable position” and having “five legs with rollers”.

They must be adjustable in both height and tilt, must have an adjustable armrest on both sides and the chair fabric must be either black or grey.

In addition, the metal element of the chair must be the same colour, either black or chrome.

Each chair must include a minimum standard five-year warranty.

The deadline for tenders is August 17.