DWP Norcross Closure Announcement of 6th September 2012

To all members and potential members of the PCS Fylde Central Benefits and Services Branch at Norcross:

Dear Colleagues 

Members at DWP Norcross may/ should have seen the communications form the employer regarding the next stages of the closure of the DWP Norcross site, and that the Formal Notice of site closure has now been given.

We are extremely disappointed that the final decision has now been made to close the DWP Norcross site, and that 31st August 2013 is the final date of closure.

We will continue our campaign to reverse this decision and will continue to raise with MPs and other political leaders the need to promote the economy of the area, to defend jobs and employment prospects. The decision to close the DWP Norcross site will undoubtedly result in job losses/ redundancies for members who work for the DWP contractors, and job losses in the DWP as well as undermining future employment in the DWP in the locale.

Location strategy
Members should now know which teams are moving to which site. Please note that this does not necessarily mean that all the people on the team may move to that site (see later on).

Excess Fares
We welcome the announcement that excess fares will be paid to people in the DWP, moving from the site as a result of this announcement, for a period of 5 years rather than 3 years.

Transport solution for Peel Park
We believe that the option of seeking a permanent solution to the problem of public transport to the Peel Park site is the correct decision. We believe that this solution is far preferable to the potential solution of shuttle buses. (The problems of shuttle buses were highlighted in a circular in August with the problems surrounding the closure of the DWP Moorland Road site and the shuttle bus that ran for three years and then stopped when the excess fares period ended).

However it will be extremely important to see what bus routes are extended to Peel Park and the frequency of service. Only when this is known will members be able to actually calculate their real travelling time for that element of the Mobility Policy.

Mobility Policy 
Unfortunately there have been some questions about Mobility Policy as some people misunderstand/ confuse this as being just the travelling times.

Here we go starting with the actual policy:

“Mobility Policy:
 The mobility policy describes how compulsory moves will be managed within the Department. Prior to making a decision to impose a compulsory permanent transfer full consideration will be given to an employee’s personal circumstances, including caring responsibilities and any disability or domestic difficulties.” I have bolded the last section.

Now the headline Conditions of Service for the travelling times:
These were and remain: 1 hour for employees with “limited mobility” status (AAs/ AOs/ Part time staff) and 1.5 hours for those with “mobile” status, by public transport for those employed prior to 15 January 2007 and, by reasonable mode of transport offering the greatest radius of travel for those staff joining the Department on or after 15 January 2007.

Then explaining what this means in practise:
The following is an extract from mobility; “Questions about an employee’s home to office journey time cannot reasonably consider just their time sitting on the bus or train, but must look at the end-to-end process from the point of leaving home to the point of arrival at work (and the return journey).” Please note therefore that walking and waiting times are important and that the return journey must also be taken into account.

And what to do when the employer says that the details are calculated on the computer:
The following is an extract from mobility “There is a common perception that public transport services (and timetables) can be, or are unreliable. In grievance cases it may therefore be necessary for journey times to be accurately measured, for example by arranging for an independent person to make the same journey on a number of occasions, in both directions and at the same times as the employee who has raised the grievance normally makes the journey.”

Further One to Ones 
There may later in the year be further one to ones, particularly once the permanent solution bus timetables are known. This may lead to people, who may remain outside of mobility, having discussions about options which may be available such as:

• being transferred to a site that is within their conditions of service
• and/ or consideration of accepting a post which involves breaking their conditions of service provided that the employer pays compensation under the Workforce Management Redeployment Package policy (see the link here 
• and/ or consideration of an exit package

Support from the Branch
If you require representation at any meetings please contact Jon Colgan who is the personal case allocator for Norcross, or CharlesHancock who is the Deputy.

I hope that the above is useful.

Remember that it is important that members at Norcross actively support the Campaigns that the Branch/ PCS take forward.

Yours Sincerely

Duncan Griffiths

Branch Secretary