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Future of the Fixed Term Appointments and the Staffing Crisis in Jobcentre Plus

14 May 2010

PCS has been vigorously pressing Jobcentre Plus to address the huge uncertainty over staffing for the 2010/11 year in Jobcentre Plus. Despite there being 14,000 Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) and temporary staff desperate to know whether they will retain their job, management have failed to give them any reassurances whatsoever.

Instead they have continued to impose a national ban on any external recruitment, any promotion or any extension of the FTA contracts. Management have written to PCS this week to say that this does not necessarily mean that no contracts will be extended but that staff need “to understand that they can have no expectation of extension”.

When the ban was introduced management claimed that it was necessary to ensure Jobcentre Plus stayed within its headcount target of 84,000. The current staffing levels are now significantly below this figure which should allow for management to ease their ban on extending FTA contracts. Despite this they continue to refuse to do so.

Risk of Total Collapse

The GEC has told management that if they were to end thousands of FTA contracts they will risk the total collapse of Jobcentre Plus. Losing the FTA’s would make working conditions intolerable for the staff left behind and waste the investment in training the FTA’s by throwing them needlessly onto the dole. Management’s claim that Jobcentre Plus’ workloads will reduce significantly by the time the FTA contracts end is simply wishful thinking and bears no relation to the economic realities.

Management have cited the general election as an excuse for not taking any decisions to give their staff certainty over their future. As an absolute minimum they could extend all FTA contracts while the longer term staffing situation is resolved. PCS has written to Darra Singh this week demanding that he does so.

PCS has raised this issue with management at every level repeatedly over recent months. In addition we have taken the case of the FTA’s to MP’s through PCS’ parliamentary group and to ministers. We are seeking an early meeting with the new Secretary of State to ensure he is fully aware of the appalling treatment his staff are being subjected to and to seek his early intervention.

Representation for FTA’s

Management are continuing to terminate the contracts of FTA’s when their contract end date is reached. This process starts with a letter being sent to every FTA about 6 months before their contract end date to tell them it is likely that their contract will not be extended or made permanent. Around 3 months before the end of the contract every FTA will be invited to a formal meeting with their manager to discuss the end of the contract. Members are entitled to be represented at these meetings by a PCS rep and branches should anticipate that members will want to be represented at these meetings. Requests for additional facility time may be appropriate where the number of requests for representation is large. Any problems should be referred to DWP Group Office.

FTA Members’ Rights

The termination of a FTA contract at the contract end date is a dismissal. This means that staff with fixed term contracts have the same rights as every other member of staff. Therefore, in the case of dismissal, every member should be:-

• Treated equally
• Invited to a meeting to discuss the issue
• Be given the reasons for dismissal in a decision letter which should include the effective date of dismissal
• Be offered the right of representation
• Be offered the right of appeal to a decision maker
• Be told of their rights to appeal to a CSAB (if they have over 12 months’ service)
• Have the appeal heard by a different decision maker
• Be given the decision on the appeal in writing
• Be informed of their right to appeal to a CSAB and an employment tribunal (if the length of services exceeds 12 months)

Reps need to ensure that this process is followed.
Where members want to challenge their dismissal by taking their case to a CSAB or an Employment Tribunal, branches should contact DWP Group office for advice.

Campaigning for Jobs

As well as providing support and representation for individual FTA members, and challenging the decision to dismiss individual members, branches should campaign to retain all the FTA’s in their area. They should ensure that every FTA understands that PCS is fighting for their job. Whenever decisions are being taken to dismiss FTA staff, branches should ensure that local managers are challenged about the staffing position in their office and publicise their response. We know the outstanding work has not gone away and management must not be allowed to cut the workforce without explaining to their staff how their work is to be managed.

PCS will continue to press this matter at national level but equally there is a vital role for regional and local TUS to do the same at that level. Reps should also demand that managers make business cases to extend the FTA’s in their offices. While most contracts are not being extended there are examples where some have been extended when business reasons are particularly compelling.

Conclusion

PCS is committed to campaigning for all our members’ jobs to be made permanent. We will continue to press national management to at least extend the FTA contracts and stop all moves towards ending their contracts. It is essential that regions and branches are doing the same locally. Every Minister, including ours, has praised the work of Jobcentre Plus staff during the recession. Now is the time for us to insist that this praise is translated into reality by Jobcentre Plus providing clear job security for all our FTA members.

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