FCDO2030 - Questions to ask directors this week

Staff in each directorate are this week attending a 'reveal' meeting at which you are being shown the new organogram for your directorate.

FCDO PCS lay reps have produced a set of questions that members may wish to ask directors during these 'reveal' meetings - see below. 

The questions are extremely basic, asking for information FCDO should have already provided to staff as part of standard workforce planning for a restructure of this size, in line with the 2016 Protocol (Civil Service Redundancy Principles) and FCDO's own policies. 

FCDO PCS branch has been in dispute with FCDO since November on the basis that FCDO is clearly in breach of its own policies and of the 2016 Protocol (and possibly the Civil Service Compensation Scheme too). FCDO PCS Branch came close to securing a mandate for industrial action last month (19 votes short) and is now balloting again. Civil servants in FCDO and predecessor organisations have not taken industrial action for at least 15 years, but are now likely to secure a mandate for industrial action in the context of a restructure which FCDO told the Insolvency Service could result in 1885 job losses. 

Suggested questions to Directors

Below are key questions for FCDO to which PCS and the other unions have not been provided with an answer. If members feel comfortable to do so, we encourage you to ask one or more of these in your directorate 'reveal' meeting. 

1. Can you please provide statistics of the number of job losses, by grade, across the directorate, based on a comparison of organograms from 2024/25 and 2025/26? Can this also include any UKBS overseas which are being localised.
2. Does the JEGS/JESP process consider whether a role is correctly identified as a Developed Vetting (DV) or Security Check (SC) vetting role? Most hiring managers put DV down by default rather than consider whether DV is necessary for that role. This is particularly relevant for former Department for International Development (DfID) colleagues as many do not hold DV clearance. 
3. The guidance states that only UK nationals, including dual nationals, can hold reserved roles. How many reserved roles exist by grade in this directorate?  
4. The 15-day window for completing Expressions of Interest (EOIs) is tight. If the process slips into the summer holiday period, how will this be managed? 
5. What are the plans for staff on statutory paternity/maternity leave or long-term sick who were not matched at Stage 1? 
6. There is a clear argument that short or inflexible deadlines can disadvantage staff with disabilities and long-term health conditions, particularly at the application stage. Under the Equality Act 2010, any practice that creates this kind of disadvantage needs to be addressed through reasonable adjustments. What adjustments will be put in place? Can you share this directorate’s equality impact assessment (EIA) as part of this process so we can see that colleagues with protected characteristics will be protected? 
7. Can you clarify the approach for staff who work part-time or as part of a job share arrangement?
8. Redundancy mitigation measures. 
   • Can you please ask HR to stop recruiting people? There is an induction course this month. The rationale is that DV takes a long time, but this is surely ridiculous when the induction course consists of generalists at all delegated grades and we are talking about 25% of existing staff in the UK being at risk of redundancy. 
   • There are a number of people currently in the FCDO on Fixed Term Contract (FTC) and loans from Other Government Departments (OGDs). The home departments of people on loan are contractually obliged to take them back at the end of their loan. There is no promise of permanency in a FTC. Can you please confirm that all jobs will be offered to FCDO staff on permanent contracts who are at risk of redundancy, first?
   • Can there be a pause to any redundancy processes after the new structures are in place, to ensure these new structures actually work?