Strike ballot starts for members impacted by DWP Lincoln office closure

These members do vital work delivering Universal Credit services assisting claimants with their claims and ensuring that benefits are paid on time. The postal ballot runs until 10 October. PCS is urging member to vote yes for strike action.

The reason for the strike ballot is because the DWP notified staff on 17 June that their office was to close in May 2026. Due to the relative geographical isolation there are very few DWP jobs on offer for staff within a reasonable travel time. Up to 100 staff currently working in Lincoln Service Centre now face the very real prospect of redundancy.

Reverse the decision

Lincoln is one of a number of so-called “transitional sites” that have been earmarked for closure since 2016 with the potential for thousands of job losses across the hard-pressed communities across the network. The DWP re-emphasised their 2016 strategy in a recent response to a PCS letter creating the trade dispute by saying that DWP has a strategy “that moves from smaller, scattered sites, to fewer, larger and more economically sustainable sites that can accommodate over 300 SSC colleagues.”

PCS is urging the DWP to reverse its decision to close the Lincoln office and enter into meaningful talks with PCS about the thousands of job losses and decimated communities that could result from their current outdated strategy.