Must the guided distribution always be met? DWP says ‘No’!

The following has been supplied by DWP Group:

People Performance Myths
DWP has produced a People Performance 'myth busting' brief for HR experts using replies to frequently asked policy questions. The Complex Case Advisory Service (CCAS) has been involved in its development and will be using it to respond to queries.

Guided not forced distribution
DWP People Performance uses guided not forced distribution. Guided distribution ranges provide a framework for setting known performance expectations or ‘standards’ at the start of the year and must not be misused as quotas at the end of the year. The DWP 'myth busting' brief for HR experts confirms this truth:

‘Myth: The distribution of 25% in Exceeded, 65% in Achieved and 10% in Must Improve must always be met.

Truth: The distribution is a guide to support standards setting, not a quota for ‘forcing’ ratings.

Managers award performance ratings based solely upon achievement of objectives (the ‘What’) and demonstration of required behaviours (the ‘How’).

Nobody should have their rating changed simply to meet the guided distribution.’

Evaluating your performance
Your performance must be fairly evaluated against both the ‘What’ (delivery of objectives) and the ‘How’ (demonstration of behaviours, competencies and values), and against known performance expectations, which are the standards set at the start of the year with equal weighting between ‘What’ and ‘How’. DWP People Performance has a procedural requirement that ratings must be consistent with known performance expectations (Procedure 12.1). There is no procedural requirement that managers must meet the distribution ranges at the end of the year.

Rating your performance
The rating of your performance by managers must be objective and consistent against known performance expectations on the basis that ratings will not be changed or forced simply to fit the distribution (Procedure 9.3).

Your performance rating must always be an evidenced based balanced consideration of your personal performance over the entire reporting period. Your manager should assure you that your rating will not be changed or forced simply to fit the distribution and you will be awarded the performance rating which you have achieved 

David Burke
Group Assistant Secretary

Brand new email campaign to save check-off

Francis Maude's attempts to interfere in member's agreements to pay trade unions subs direct from payroll (aka check off), is proving ever more unjust and land lacking in transparency.

When questioned in parliament on 12 March, the Minister refused to publish responses from departments to his request for them to 'review' check-off, despite the fact that he is not even a party to the agreement. He was also forced to admit that the decision is entirely for departments to make as he has no right to order an end to check-off.

Please email your MP today asking them to contact Francis Maude and insist that he retract his request to departments.

Action: Email your MP today http://www.pcs.org.uk/MPsavecheckoff

Tribunals fall so workers and justice pay the price

A dramatic drop in number of people taking employment tribunal cases since the introduction of a fees system shows the government is on the side of bad bosses, the TUC has said. Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures released last week reveal there has been a 79 per cent fall in employment tribunal cases – from 45,710 between September and December 2012 to 9,801 cases for the same period last year – since the government introduced a fee for most workers to take cases.

The fees introduced on 29 July 2013 mean workers can be required to pay up to £1,200 for taking a tribunal complaint about issues including victimisation for workplace safety activities.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “These figures show that introducing fees for tribunal cases has stopped many people seeking justice. No one will believe that Britain’s workplaces have got fairer overnight. Too many of Britain’s bad bosses are getting away with treating staff badly, confident that the government is on their side.” The TUC leader added: “It is sheer hypocrisy for ministers to suggest that the charges have stopped drawn out disputes and ‘emotional damage’ to workers. Nothing is worse than suffering injustice and knowing that you cannot afford to put it right. These figures also show why workers should be in a union. While there has been a big fall is in cases brought by individuals, unions are still supporting members who have been treated badly and need to seek justice.”

Britain Needs a Payrise

PCS UNION DISTRIBUTION AND REPRESENTATION

The Branch now uses an email distribution system. This system relies on a network of cascade points in many areas across our workplaces. This enables us to issue targeted communications to employer groups, and sites rather than sending everything to everyone, it should all be relevant.

If you are not receiving our electronic distribution then please contact our Branch Organiser, Mick Daniels by email. It may simply be a case of adding you to an existing network or if there isn’t a distribution agent in your area Branch will work with you and the other local members to arrange one. Due to cuts in facilities we can no longer desk drop as much information as we would like to therefore it is important that members are included in the network. 

UNION MEMBERSHIP RECORDS

Due to the continual relocation of PCS members across sites and between rooms your details held by PCS HQ may require updating - the Branch cannot redirect ballot papers if the address on them is incorrect. 

PCS Members are encouraged to visit www.pcs.org.uk (membership number required) or contact PCS membership records directly on 020 7801 2601 to confirm/change their current details. Make sure you check your ballot address details and that you are assigned to the correct Branch code (047139). If you do have details that require amendment please do change them either via phone or iMembership on the website above. You can also make use of the live chat facility on the PCS HQ website to make any changes. 

Correct details are imperative to receive priority mail

(including ballots).

UNION REPRESENTATION - IMPORTANT! 
The Branch continues to receive many requests from non-members asking to join PCS and have immediate representation for on-going issues effectively asking us to backdate their membership cover. From 1^st January 2004 we have followed the PCS Union National policy and cannot back date cover for any circumstances.

Irrespective of the situation for non-members wanting advice/guidance or backdated representation, we believe that a reminder is needed to state that it is not possible as the phone calls, e-mails or arrivals in the office are constant. On the reverse of this circular is a membership form. You become a member when you sign the form (assuming the Branch office receives it shortly afterwards). 

NO MEMBERSHIP = NO BACKDATED REPRESENTATION OR ADVICE

CAN YOU AFFORD NOT TO JOIN?

DO THE RIGHT THING 

As it says on the DWP Department and You HR site: “The Department encourages you to join and participate in the activities of a Trade Union...” 

REMEMBER 

PCS collectively campaigns on key matters such as pay, pensions, jobs (including redundancy terms) and conditions of service (such as the unagreed appraisal system and the unacceptable sickness absence policy etc).

If you want a voice on these vitally important issues then join PCS.

Many thanks for your co-operation and please remember to notify PCS of any changes in your details (every time they change).

NUT Action

The following has been supplied by PCS NW Regional Office

Colleagues,

You may be aware that the National Union of Teachers are to strike again tomorrow (26th March) in an on-going dispute over pensions and working conditions and to "Stand Up for Education".  Marches and rallies will take place in Liverpool, Manchester and Preston and full details can be found here.

Although the marches begin in what will be core time for most of our members, the rallies begin at noon and therefore as many members as possible should be encouraged to support them in their lunch break.  It remains a strategic objective for PCS to rebuild a coalition of unions willing to fight cuts and a demonstration of support tomorrow will assist in that regard.  I will be sending a message of support to all three events.

Regards,

Peter Middleman
NW Regional Secretary
Public & Commercial Services Union

Shared Services Members' Meetings

Two meetings have been arranged to discuss the recent announcement from Steria regarding the future of jobs and location of Shared Services.

Facility time has been applied for, for you to attend one of the meetings, please make every effort to do so.

Friday 21st March 2014

Tomlinson House Canteen - 10.30am

Tomlinson House Canteen - 2.00pm

DWP to impose spells of absence trigger point from 1st April 2014

PCS will oppose new punitive

Attendance Management Warnings Policy

Attendance Management changes
Revised Attendance Management Policy, Procedures and Advice will be published on 1st April 2014. This PCS article outlines the proposed changes related to spells of absence. Consultation is continuing with the Departmental Trade Union Side (DTUS) about this and other key issues. PCS is arguing against punitive measures and the need for improved support for disability related absences and better procedural fairness and justice for all employees.

DWP message to employeesDWP wants to send a message to employees that short term, irregular absences is not something the Department can continue to support. DWP therefore plans to introduce:

• A four spells of absence trigger point, in addition to the eight day Trigger Point (previously known as consideration point).
• A review of an individual's sick absence over the previous 12 months at Welcome Back discussions.
• A series of How To guides.

Other changes include adopting civil service employee policy terminology, such as, “Consideration Point” will be replaced with “Trigger point” and “Backsliding period” will be replaced with “Sustained Improvement Period.”

Application of Spells of absence
DWP procedural guidance for the application of a spells of absence trigger point excludes disability related absences and rules out pro-rata application for part-time employees. Other qualifications may be introduced but current DWP guidance for 1st April states:

• Spells of absence refers to the number of separate instances an employee is absent within a defined period, rather than the total number of days.
• The Trigger Point is four spells of absence for all employees, regardless of their working pattern, in a rolling 12 month period. It is not prorated for part-time staff.
• A spell is usually at least one full working day but where an employee has repeatedly taken part day absences, the line manager may consider whether it is reasonable to total the number of hours sickness absence into whole days and then these would count towards the Trigger Point. If the manager considers this is reasonable, they will need to let the employee know in writing that they will do this if the pattern of part-day sickness absence continues. It should not be done retrospectively and the aggregated total should not be entered on RM.
• The Trigger Point may be reached and action taken if employees are absent on four separate occasions within that period, regardless of the length of absence.
• The considerations which apply when a trigger point is reached for eight days remain the same in terms of management action, for spells. Managers should refer to the guidance to ensure they follow the correct course of action.

Warnings are not automatic and should not be given where one of the special circumstances applies.

• Managers are expected to discuss concerns about attendance levels informally with the employee, before they reach the trigger point, particularly when spells or trends are emerging and consider what forms of support are appropriate in order to prevent further absence and help them remain at work.
• Management intervention must be taken timeously so the right help and support for an employee is identified at the earliest opportunity
• Spells of absence do not apply to disability related absences. Planned absences for dialysis, chemotherapy or scheduled minor operations are not counted as a spell.
• Spells can be linked. If an employee returns to work and is then absent within one calendar week with the same incapacity, the spells should be linked and classed as one spell.

Transitional arrangements from 1st April 
Spells of absence are applicable to all employees from 1st April 2014 but:

• Sickness absences before 1st April will NOT count as spells of absence.
• Sickness absences that began before 1st April and include or continue past 1st April will NOT count as a spell of absence
• The trigger point for employees in a 6 month Review Period on 1st April 2014 will not include spells and will remain as four days
• Once this period has ended, the trigger point will also include spells

The trigger point for employees who are in a 12 month Sustained Improvement Period on this date is 8 days and will include spells from and including 1st April.

Involvement of HR Expert
There will be a re-emphasis on the approach line managers need to take before applying discretion, which includes seeking advice from a HR expert. The relevant sentence (currently within paragraph 3.2(b)), has been amended, from 1st April 2014, to read:

“Before applying their discretion, or informing the employee of the decision in circumstances not listed, the manager must seek advice, not instruction, from their line manager (or a senior manager) and a HR Expert. The decision on the action to be taken remains the responsibility of the line manager and must not be escalated to, assumed by or attributed to the person giving the advice.”

PCS requires significant improvements
PCS Policy advocates significant improvement of DWP Attendance Management. DWP must introduce improvements not bad practices. Consultation is continuing with DTUS and PCS will take all necessary action to remove unfair, unnecessary and punitive policies and achieve improvements to support disability related absences and better procedural fairness and justice for all: DWP Must Improve.

Ruskin College Scholarship

PCS offers one scholarship each year to attend Ruskin College, Oxford.

The full-time residential course allows participants to work towards a certificate in higher education. This is equivalent to 120 cats points (transferable university level credits) and provides 2nd year entry for most degree courses for those who wish to pursue their education further.

Details for this year can be found here. Please note there are links to youtube videos within the document which should not (and probably cannot) be viewed on a DWP computer.

Brassed Off

Our local TUC Education Unit has asked if we can promote a commemorative (30th anniversary of the miner’s strike) stage production of the popular screenplay Brassed Off.

PCS (or any union) members get a price reduction too!...

Adapated by Paul Allen
From the Screenplay by Mark Herman

Starring John McArdle

‘The truth is, I thought it mattered - I thought that music mattered.
But does it?... Not compared to how people matter.’
Danny, Brassed Off

Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Miner’s Strike
We are proud to present this production of ‘Brassed Off’on
Tour in the UK.

Blackpool Grand Theatre
On Wednesday April the 16th at 7.30 

 

There will be a special performance for all union members.

Call:  01253 743338 and quote UNION OFFER
£9.50 + £1.50 booking fee (£11.00)

Call now for best available seats at this amazing rate!

PCS will fight SSCL office closures and job cuts

The following has been supplied by PCS DWP Group:
Announcements were made to staff on the 4th March 2014 following talks with PCS on Monday 3rd March 2014 that Steria/Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL) intend to cut at least 400 jobs through the closure of ex DWP sites at Sheffield, Cardiff and the ex Environment Agency site in Leeds. Work adding up to the equivalent of about 200 jobs will be off-shored to India. The Group Executive committee has agreed to do everything possible to fight these office closures and job cuts. 

SSCL propose to close the sites at Sheffield (239 ex DWP), Cardiff (105 ex DWP) and Leeds (68 ex EA covered by Unison) by 31st October 2014. 

At the same time SSCL are reviewing and reducing around another 100 staff in corporate services across all sites: Defra, York and Alnwick; DWP, Blackpool and Newcastle; EA Peterborough. This amounts to a reduction of half the workforce.

A DWP Briefing was issued on the 4 March to all DWP members in Shared Services and GEC members were present at Cardiff and Sheffield when the announcements were made. A press release was issued and picked up by the BBC.

PCS has demanded full negotiations. Steria has agreed to the legal 90 days consultation for redundancy from 3 March. PCS will be opposing any office closures. If closures cannot be stopped PCS will demand that in line with the civil service protocols all steps are taken to avoid compulsory redundancies by using voluntary redundancy and redeployment back into the civil service or other parts of Steria.

However, SSCL have said yesterday that they expect to need to use compulsory redundancies. Yet there is work for Sheffield, Cardiff and Leeds. It is wrong to send that work to India to get it done on the cheap to boost SSCL profits and make staff here redundant. PCS will fight to prevent compulsory redundancy.

These PCS members were privatised by the government and DWP management on 1 November 2013. The SSCL office closure and job cuts timetable is intended to allow SSCL to close sites and make people redundant by 31 October, exactly a year after the transfer into the private sector. At the same time they will be recruiting 200 staff into the sites in India.

All the local MPs, including Nick Clegg, have been briefed. His constituency is in Sheffield which will be losing over 200 jobs at the same time as they are recruiting a similar number in India. We will be lobbying Nick Clegg. 

Further talks continue with SSCL on Thursday 6th March when PCS will oppose the office closures and job cuts.

Many of the staff in Shared Services have worked in the civil service since the 1980’s. They are longstanding traditional civil servants with a deep commitment to public service and the public service ethos. The government knew that Steria/SSCL would make staff redundant and would offshore work. Even worse so did DWP management. It is shameful that DWP management deliberately and knowingly handed over hundreds of loyal hardworking long serving civil servants in the full knowledge that they would quickly face redundancy. PCS members will not forget this.

Job cuts loom at shared services sites – DWP Norcross

Civil servants in Steria (who used to work in the Department for Work and Pensions at DWP Norcross – Tomlinson House near Blackpool) face redundancy it has been announced.

PCS opposed the sell-off to French multinational Steria of a range of several Government Departments' support functions, including human resources and finance, which took place on the 1st of November 2013.

It was announced on the 4th of March 2014 that the new company set up to run the latest shared services contract has already announced hundreds of redundancies.

Citing the need for "substantial cost cutting", Shared Services Connected Ltd has put 500 jobs on the line just four months after taking over.

It also announced offices in Cardiff, Leeds and Sheffield will close by the end of October – at the very margins of honouring its "no site closures for at least a year" pledge.

PCS have always opposed the privatisation of this work, warning it would lead to job cuts and office closures.

Details of the redundancies by site are:

• Alnwick, Defra: none of 36 staff
• Blackpool, DWP: 48 of 222 staff
• Cardiff, DWP: all 105 staff, office to close
• Leeds, EA: all 68 staff, office to close
• Newcastle, DWP: 13 of 209 staff
• Peterborough, EA: 6 of 86 staff
• Sheffield, DWP: all 239 staff, office to close
• York, Defra: 35 of 150 staff

The latest job losses comes as a sickening blow, there have already been over three thousand jobs lost in the DWP in the Fylde area over the last few years. We have raised our concerns about the jobs situation with MPs and other political leaders over the past several years. The area is crying out for jobs, not more uncertainty. We made the case to the MPs that we met in October 2014 that DWP Norcross should be used as hub for  Civil Service work, rather than bulldozering the majority of the site as is now taking place.
Duncan Griffiths, Branch Secretary

PCS has also issued a national press release which has received coverage on the BBC News website here.

PCS will fight SSCL office closures and job cuts

On March 3rd SSCL informed PCS that they intend to close Sheffield, Cardiff and Leeds, cut 200 jobs and offshore the work to India by October. PCS will oppose these proposals and defend your jobs by negotiation, political lobbying, campaigning and industrial action where necessary. Union meetings will be held to consult you as soon as possible about your concerns.

The Alnwick site is safe until summer 2015. After that its future may depend on SSCL winning other contracts at NHS SBS. PCS believe this concession is a direct result of campaigning by members at Alnwick. It shows campaigning works.

PCS demanded full negotiations. Steria agreed to the legal 90 days consultation for redundancy from 3 March. PCS will be opposing any office closures. If closures cannot be stopped PCS will demand that in line with the civil service protocols all steps are taken to avoid compulsory redundancies by using voluntary redundancy and redeployment back into the civil service or other parts of Steria.

Say no to compulsory redundancies
However, SSCL said that they expect to need to use compulsory redundancies. Yet there is work for Sheffield, Cardiff and Leeds. It is wrong to send that work to India to get it done on the cheap to boost SSCL profits and make staff here redundant. PCS has will fight to prevent compulsory redundancy.

United response
Staff on other sites are not safe. SSCL plan a ‘delayering’ of management roles and a rationalisation of functions. This could mean more job cuts. All PCS members in SSCL must stick together to ensure that procedures are properly followed to protect against compulsory redundancy for all staff on whatever site. SSCL are now bidding for MoJ, Home Office, DECC, FSA and National Police College shared services. The HMRC and MoD shared services face privatisation. All civil service staff in all corporate services are now threatened by privatisation, jobs cuts and off shoring. This campaign will involve all PCS members.

Together we are stronger
Over 250,000 staff are already PCS members. When you join the union you will be joining together with the vast majority of staff. But the more union members the stronger our voice will be to defend and protect your job. Ask your PCS rep now about joining the union and how you can get involved.

To Join PCS Now – Fill In the Form Here

International Women's Day

Saturday 8th March 2014 is International Women’s Day where we celebrate the social, political and economic achievements of women. This year’s theme is

Inspiring Change

A Brief History of Time (in respect of women)

1800s - Women’s property is owned by their husband if they are married
1842 - Women banned from working underground
1847 - Women limited to 10 hours work in Textile Factories
1865 - Women can become doctors
1870 - Women’s earnings become their own and not their husbands
1874 - Typewriter invented - Led to an increase in female employment
1876 - Telephone invented - Led to an increase in female employment
1880 - First women obtain degrees
1908 - First Female Mayor in UK
1914 - First Female Police Officers
1918 - Women over 30 get the right to vote
1919 - First Female MP
1928 - Women over 21 get right to vote (same age as men)
1929 - First Female Cabinet Minister
1956 - First Female Judge
1958 - First Female Bank Manager
1970 - Equal Pay Act made differences in pay and conditions illegal
1975 - It becomes against the law to sack women for becoming pregnant
1979 - First Female Prime Minister
1984 - Another Equal Pay Act states equal pay for equal work
2013 - Birmingham Council agrees to settle 11000 Equal Pay claims (massive victory but proves gender pay gap has grown)
2014 - Childcare costs rise 30% in 3 years, Workplaces become less flexible, Women still occupy lower grades, Women remain primary care givers for elderly relatives

We have come a long way in the last 200 years but it is obvious there is still a long way to go and we are in danger of losing some of the gains we have made.

Compiled by: Alistair Mitchell

---------------------

The following has been supplied by the DWP Group Women's Advisory Committee:

Chris Hart joined the Civil Service 6 April 1970 at Erdington Birmingham as a young single woman working for the then named Ministry of Social Security. She had been unemployed for one week when she attended the Labour Exchange and secured work as a casual Clerical Assistant (CA).

She had to reapply for her job every six weeks as employment laws at the time meant the position would have to become temporary or permanent if employment continued beyond this. In practice, this meant that she had to take one week’s unpaid leave after each six week period.

Chris was a casual for two years before being taken on as a temp. Moving to temporary employment meant she was not required to break her service and she was entitled to one week’s notice if her services were not required. It took a further three years to secure a permanent contract.

Her CA job involved locating case papers, maintaining a BF2 filing system and handwriting giros and operating the ‘bonker’ (a machine used to print order books)! Hours were 8:30AM to 5:00PM with an hour for lunch. Staff was not entitled to morning or afternoon breaks. Furthermore, the team could not leave the office until each customer had left the premises. This could be up to seven pm especially on Fridays and Chris laughingly recalls her father searching for her convinced his young daughter had been waylaid and attacked on her way home.

Recalling the make up of the office at the time, she is reminded of the commonplace grade-ism and having to address the two male EOs and male HEO formally. Women were generally CA and CO grades.

After marrying, Chris became pregnant with her daughter (born August 1975). She was entitled to six weeks maternity leave and a one-off maternity payment of £25 only.

Unfortunately her marriage broke down and she returned to live with her parents.  Her mother being a housewife - her father not allowing his wife to work - meant she was able to provide child care when Chris had to return to work on a full time basis. The Department had rigid working hours and patterns and these could not be varied.

Chris received no concessions for being a new mother and was back on her feet all day six weeks after giving birth locating case papers and still having to do overtime.

Giving up work was out of the question as Social Security regulations in place at the time meant you had to provide evidence of being legally separated from your husband to gain benefits – and this was not always a straightforward process.  (I personally remember a woman and her children being abandoned by her husband and not being able to get benefits. The only meals the children ate were free schools meals and abject desolation pushed the mother to seriously attempt suicide).

She recalls the Liable Relative procedures where department officials would not only ask the name of the child’s father but a full description would request a photograph probing deeply to ascertain the errant father!

Thirteen years after her first child Chris remarried. She was not forced to resign on getting married as women were made to do as late as 1972 if working for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Her son was born during 1988. This time she got three months maternity leave and pay at £400-£500 per month. An improvement however, she still had to return on a full time basis.

I asked Chris if she recalled whether she received lower pay as the Equal Pay Act 1970 only came into force in 1976, but she was unaware of a pay differential as nearly all CA and CO were women.

It wasn’t until 1988 following a 10 year battle that a tribunal upheld a case bought by Julie Hayward for equal pay.

Chris maintains she was lucky in that she had parental support, as the working hours made it hard to achieve a good work life balance and she expresses with a tinge of sadness and regret the detrimental effect this had on her home life.

She recalls the desperation she felt when child care arrangements broke down: women not given 24 hours to make alternative arrangements. She remembers being made to provide a letter from the hospital after her son’s admission. Chris also tells of the fear of sickness as staff did not get paid for sick leave, receiving basic level Statutory Sickness Pay from day one.

In her 44 years in the department Chris has witnessed great change. She feels the ability to vary working patterns, flexible working hours, better annual leave entitlement, Maternity pay and leave, pregnant and new mothers’ policy amongst the  terms and conditions hard won by PCS and its predecessor union and backed by legislation driven by the wider union movement, have enabled women to achieve a better work life balance.

Today we are in a climate that may reverse some of these gains. Women, who still remain primary care givers, are finding it increasing difficult to secure changes in working patterns and work flexibly and the rising cost of good accessible childcare is prohibitive. The Department electing to close workplace nurseries compounds this.

Many women are also finding, as the work forces ages, that they are caring for aging and infirm relatives bringing additional stress and heavily impacting work and home life. The fact that many women still occupy the lower grades, the (real terms) wage cut and rising pension costs have heavily affected our quality of life and we shake our heads incredulously when told we are lucky to have jobs whilst bus drivers in the private sector are facing wage cuts.

We recognise the hard battles feminists have fought but the fight is not over and we will continue the fight for equality.

This fat lady aint singing.

Annette Rochester - DWP Group Equality Officer

View this email in your browser Help us make the case for fairer pay The TUC needs your help We need your personal stories so that we can make a case for fair pay and better rights at work. This March the TUC is organising Fair Pay Fortnight a series of events across the UK that will raise awareness about falling living standards. We are on the lookout for case studies who are willing to talk about how the cost of living crisis is impacting on their lives. All cases will be dealt with sensitively and we would not allow people to put in a situation where employee/employer relations are affected. It would be great if you could forward it on to members and other people you think may be interested in telling their story. Your help and advice would be greatly appreciated. Tell us your story Share Tweet Forward to Friend unsubscribe from this list