NatureScot has been criticised over its 'absurd' work-from-home policy, which allows staff to carry out their jobs from another country, as far as 7,304 miles away.
Employees of the SNP government quango have been permitted to work remotely from abroad nearly 140 times in the past three years, for a variety of reasons, including "family events."
Taxpayers have funded staff at NatureScotto work remotely from countries including Iceland, Hungary, Spain, India, and as far away as Chile.
Workers traveling from Scotland to Chile, a distance of 7,304 miles, will spend up to 30 hours flying to the South American country with at least two layovers.
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The public receives £89.4 million a year from the Scottish executive to help improve the natural environment, with staff allowed to work from overseas for up to 30 days each year.
Scottish Tory business spokesman Murdo Fraser has branded the policy as "absurd" after a freedom of information request revealed the extent of staff travel.
It was revealed that staff were allowed to travel abroad to attend conferences, and they could also work overseas if attending family events.
Between 2022-23 and 2024-25, 137 employees were approved to work from abroad in countries such as Finland, Denmark, Germany, the US, Croatia, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.
The request revealed that 63 requests were approved in 2024-25 and 2023-24, compared to just 11 in 2022-23.
Mr Fraser told the Daily Mail: "Of all public bodies, you'd expect NatureScot's staff to be based here - unless there's an exceptional reason for distant working. Taxpayers don't expect the civil servants they fund to deal with Scotland's environment to be habitually operating from the Costa del Sol or India."
A NatureScot spokesman said: "Staff working abroad were either attending meetings and conferences - such as the Unesco Panel meeting for the Flow Country World Heritage bid, the AEWA European Goose Management working group, World Protected Areas Leaders Forum and World Water Week - or due to personal circumstances such as family events and bereavements.
"Although NatureScot's policy allows staff to work abroad for personal reasons for a maximum of 30 working days over a 12-month rolling period, in the vast majority of cases staff are away for less than a week."
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