Introduction
Action short of a strike is an effective way of hurting the employer simply by only doing your job and no more. We are asking members to follow some suggested forms of action for the duration of our current national dispute. We are not asking members to risk being disciplined – if you’re unsure ask a local rep for advice.
What is action short of strike action?
Action to inflict maximum possible disruption but keeping the risk of members losing pay to a minimum.
What sorts of things are we asking you to do?
1. Refuse to work overtime
Overtime allows the Department to mask how under resourced it really is allowing them to publicly make false claims that the department can meet its responsibilities with fewer staff.
2. Work 7.24 (or 7.12 in London) and no more
- Don’t work longer than your contracted hours. Refuse to be flexible to help out management. Insist on going home when you have worked your hours regardless of how much work there is still left to do.
- Refuse to travel distances that take you over your daily contracted hours.
- Switch off blackberry’s and lap tops and do not deal with emails or take calls outside your contracted hours.
- Under no circumstances work weekends or evenings.
- Under no circumstances work additional hours to deal with backlogs no matter how stressful it might feel to have work piling up – remember every one of your PCS colleagues will be in the same position.
3. Only do your job, not other people’s jobs as well
Employers rely on your goodwill to help cover other people’s jobs when they are off. Don’t do this! Insist on only doing your job. If it's not part of your normal job then refuse to do it. If formally instructed to do someone else’s job then insist that you only do their job and not your normal job as well. There is only one of you and that means only doing one job at a time. If you are a line manager only ask your staff to do their normal job. Don’t staff to other sections.
4. Don’t volunteer for unpaid deputising duties
Refuse to deputise to the next grade unless you are paid to do so. You cannot be required to do work at a level above your grade. This does not include work in the higher grade which you are paid for with temporary duties allowance (TDA).
5. Don’t volunteer for management focus groups or working parties
These kinds of events are normally over and above your normal job. Don’t volunteer to take part, if your manager insists you attend and you are forced to go to one of these meetings, don’t participate. Management cannot force you to contribute or participate in these groups.
6. Follow the correct procedures. Don’t take short cuts
The basic principle is that you should do your job “by the book”. Often members are asked to cut corners and ignore established procedures as a means of hitting targets. Don’t do this.
Every job has different procedures so you are best placed to recognise effective action here.
Some suggested activities to take include:
- Insist on seeing all relevant paperwork and verifications required
- Collect and collate statistics thoroughly and methodically.
- Insist on management clearance of work that is supposed to be authorised.
7. Don’t compromise on health or safety
- Follow all safety procedures fully.
- Take regular breaks from the computer – log off when you do so.
- Seek a workplace assessment for your workspace.
- Make sure you have read fire/bomb instructions.
8. Performance management (People Performance) work to rule
DWP People Performance was revised to match civil service employee policy for performance management following consultation, but not agreement, with PCS. Improvements were achieved in DWP but all PCS members are part of the current national dispute which demands significant improvements to the civil service policy for all members. A work to rule reinforces your rights under formal procedure and advice, safeguards your basic right to be awarded the rating you have achieved and supports the national campaign.
- Consuming time can be an effective form of opposition. Demand your rights and dispute all unacceptable decisions. You have every right to ensure that your performance is fairly assessed so that you are awarded the performance rating you have achieved. This can and will consume management time.
- Ask for training if you still have not been trained in the new system. If you are a manager ask for training as a manager as well as a member of staff. If you are not trained inform your manager that you cannot undertake People Performance duties.
- Demand disclosure of all evidence and records related to your performance. Lodge a Subject Access Request (SAR) under the Data Protection Act if refused.
- Demand regular review meetings – insist that your performance concerns are fully discussed and resolved.
- Demand your right to natural justice – any “must improve” allegation must be put to you with evidence to justify it – you must be allowed to know the case against you and be allowed to answer it and state your case.
- Demand that your work objectives be agreed with you. If they are unfair, unreasonable and imposed lodge a grievance.
- Demand your end-of-year rating be agreed. Your manager should discuss your rating with you using the Performance Wave Chart. Record a marking with your manager. Email them with a record of the discussion and the marking you agreed.
- Boycott instructions to rank staff and any ranking discussions. If instructed to do so ask for a formal instruction in writing and dispute it using the grievance procedures. DWP has no requirement or recommendation to rank staff.
- Boycott instructions to meet quotas for performance ratings. Ratings must not be changed or forced simply to meet the distribution. There can be 0% “must improve” ratings in your peer group when there is no evidence to justify this rating.
- Demand your right to a formal grievance and appeal hearing, with the right to be accompanied, to dispute unacceptable decisions.
9. Read your e-mails and the intranet
- Make sure that you catch up on unread e-mails and the various guides, e-learning modules and general information that is available on the Intranet. Many of these contain vital information about your terms and conditions of service that you may be completely unaware of.
- You are entitled to and encouraged by management to read this material in official time. Now is the time to make sure that you do.
- Access RM every day to ensure it's up to date. Finally get round to filling in your equality data on RM (this will take hours because non-one has ever ensured it's fit for purpose!).
10. Always take your breaks
Have regular breaks, make tea, and speak to colleagues about work and how the action is going.
11. Insist on full training
You should not be carrying out any job or task for which you have not received full and proper training.
Consider the e-learning modules on the intranet and undertake the e-learning you have missed because of work pressure to date.
12. Team meetings
All teams should have regular team meetings, usually at least once a week. Often these get cancelled due to other pressures. As part of the campaign, make sure your team meeting is held and that you take the opportunity to contribute to the meeting and raise questions.
13. Think of things to do yourselves
Action short of strike action has an endless number of possibilities for disruption and non co-operation. It means that normal behaviours, such as goodwill and flexibility are suspended while the dispute is on.
You and your colleagues are bound to think of other activities that can help the campaign. Remember, no-one knows more than you about what would most effectively impact upon the employer.
All voluntary procedures should be boycotted apart from training.
14. Finally, don’t get disciplined.
Push non co-operation and the withdrawal of goodwill as far as possible. But if directly instructed by a line manager to do a task, you should do it rather than be suspended or disciplined. Just remember to refuse to do any other task while doing the one instructed to do. Be sure to make your manager know you are only carrying out the task under duress and grudgingly.
It is not the intention of this action to cost members money or have them subject to disciplinary action.
If you need support or advice contact your local PCS representative.
