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Ess restructuring

ESS restructuring

Estates and Support Services (ESS) have made a series of announcements to their staff about the way that they are restructuring facilities management and support services. This restructuring follows a large cut in the ESS budget for 2009/2010 and subsequent years, as explained in BB/121/09 issued on 27 March. The announcements were made at meetings to which LTUS representatives should have been invited. The budget cut involves staff reductions equating to a saving of £5.5m pa, and is line with budget cuts for other corporate functions businesses, as shown in other branch briefings I have issued in the past two months.

DTUS was consulted in advance about the content of the announcements, but the GEC has in no way agreed to any part of the ESS plans.

The new structures involve the following:

Support Services

  • a reduction from a current staff-in-post figure of about 1050 to a revised structure with about 650 staff
  • pre-surplus status for about 255 staff – the remaining 145 already having pre-surplus status

The new support services structure involves staff in four regional postrooms (Benton Park View, Bootle, Cardiff and Shipley), messenger services in the same four locations, all HMRC security guards, and storage/retrieval in Erith, Southend, Peterborough, Middlesbrough, East Kilbride, Benton Park View and Cardiff. Also stores/distribution units, Aspire support and text and translations.

Initially, ESS staff in Shipley, Cumbernauld, Bootle, Cardiff and Benton Park View will be exempt from pre-surplus, but this may change as the new structure develops.

Facilities Management

  • a reduction in the current staff-in-post figure of about 340 to about 140 posts, meaning about 200 staff will be made pre-surplus.
  • management at G7 and SO levels with technical and/or professional qualifications.
  • no AA/AO roles in the new structure

The need for technically-qualified management follows changing legislation, eg in the health and safety and corporate manslaughter fields. Existing ESS staff will be eligible for applying for these roles if they hold the necessary qualifications, but it is expected that some external recruitment will be necessary.

ESS has promised the necessary support for staff made pre-surplus, including assistance with CV writing, and working with other directorates in the location to identify suitable posts. PCS has already made the point to management that, as other corporate function businesses in HMRC are shedding staff, it is difficult to see where these alternative posts may be.

TUS will be holding further meetings with ESS to emphasise our opposition to the job cuts, and branches are invited to send me feedback (to my HMRC email address – Bevan, Lewis J (LC Eastern England) from members in ESS on their reaction to the announcements to inform these meetings.

Conference policy

Resolution EM37, in response to job cuts in corporate services areas, was carried at the R&C group conference in May. This instructed the group executive committee to “develop a robust industrial strategy as a matter of urgency to combat HMRC’s attack on jobs in the current spending round and beyond.”

The GEC is considering the ESS announcements in the light of job cuts across other HMRC directorates, and in the light of the above conference policy. We will be considering the possibility of arranging a central meeting of PCS reps in key ESS areas and/or of GEC members addressing meetings of members working in ESS to gauge reaction to the announcements.

PCS will be ensuring that existing agreements on job security and on transfers within reasonable daily travel time are adhered to, and further briefings will be issued to keep members up-to-date.