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Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS)

The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) Group of the Public & Commercial Services Union (PCS) represents members across the BIS family, including the core department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs).

The key units of the group are the members that make it up, the local branches covering each part of the BIS family, and the group executive committee which covers the entire group.

Members Come First

The first and most important element of the group is you, the member. Without membership involvement and activity PCS is not able to function effectively as a union.

First and foremost, member representation takes place at branch level. A branch may cover a particular workplace, or several, containing members of working for a single employer, and will be involved in advice and personal representation, meetings with members and distribution of union materials.

BIS Branches

BIS North of England (041003)

Moorfoot, Sheffield; Castleview Ho, Runcorn; IOS Manchester; IOS Nottingham; St Mary's Ho, Sheffield; Queensway Ho, Billingham; Mowden Hall, Darlington

UKTI London & Regions (041020)

Kingsgate Ho; Europa Ho (Glasgow) & 9 UKTI Regional Offices; Nat Engineering Lab, Glasgow; Postwatch; Competition Service, Victoria Ho, London; Fujitsu (Kingsgate); Embassies overseas (Commercial Section); Low Pay Commission; DME – Office of Manpower Economics; Simplifying International Trade (SITPRO)

BIS South of England and Wales (041042)

1 Victoria St; London & Regions; Companies Ho, Cardiff (core); Westfield House; NMO, Teddington; Swindon; IOS Watford

Non-core BIS group branches

  • ACAS (041001)
  • Insolvency Service (041016)
  • Companies House (041044)
  • Intellectual property Office (041060)
  • The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) (041061)
  • QAA (041062)
  • SLC Darlington (041063)
  • SLC Glasgow (041064)
  • Skills Funding Agency (041100)
  • Learning and Skills Improvement Service (142006)

Details of branch contacts can be found here.

Group Executive Committee

Covering all of the branches there is a group executive committee (GEC).

This is made up of representatives elected by all the group membership to protect and promote the interests of all PCS members in BIS and to progress issues which affect members in more than one of our branches.

Our policies will normally be established through debate at and motions passed by the annual group conference, but the GEC might also need to determine policy on new issues as they arise between conferences.

Details of group contacts can be found here.

PCS is there to support us

PCS’s interest within BIS covers everything which affects you as a worker and union member in the department - such as:

  • pay and conditions
  • accommodation and information
  • communication and technology issues
  • excessive workloads
  • work/life balance
  • health and well-being

…in fact anything which has a direct or indirect impact on our members.  The GEC also appoints the PCS reps on the departmental trade union side (DTUS) from branch and group levels.  The DTUS brings together PCS, and the other unions recognised by BIS, and is responsible for consultation and negotiation with the employer in the core department.

Keeping you up to date

PCS' priorities are ultimately its members’ priorities.  This is reflected in the way that PCS is growing in membership and this growth increases our influence with employers.

If you want to see improvements to your pay and working conditions, if you do not want to be disciplined unfairly, or if you want to work in healthy conditions without being continually overloaded with work, then joining PCS and playing a role in the union’s work is the way to turn what you want from your employer into a reality.  If we stand together we can stop these unfair government cuts from destroying public services in this country.

Find out more about joining PCS.