The
following details have been supplied by PCS DWP Group:
The chaos in DWP staffing continues this week. After the announcement of a VES scheme for staff in operations last week DWP management are announcing today that further external recruitment is required for the Pensions Directorate and Universal Credit.
The chaos in DWP staffing continues this week. After the announcement of a VES scheme for staff in operations last week DWP management are announcing today that further external recruitment is required for the Pensions Directorate and Universal Credit.
Management have decided that the Pensions
directorate needs around 200 extra staff to deal with extra work associated with
pension reforms and the increase in requests for pension statements as well as
increased GMS work. Adverts will go on
CS vacancies website for FTA jobs in Dundee, Motherwell and Newcastle Pension
Centres. There will also be further
recruitment next year for another 200 staff to deal with the abolition of AIPs
and prepare for pension changes from 2016.
AOs in Newcastle who were due to transfer to CMG
will be given a choice to opt to work in the Pensions Directorate as there is
also a need for extra staff in this area of operations. This option does not apply to staff who have
been told they will be working on PIP.
Universal Credit will be recruiting 150 more FTAs
on 18 month contracts in Dundee, Bolton, Bangor, Middlesbrough and Makerfield.
At the same time management have announced an
Expression of Interest exercise for vacancies in other parts of DWP. The vacancies are in specific locations for
benefits, child maintenance group, network services, pensions, universal credit
and debt management.
The eligibility for this exercise will be the same
as the VES scheme last week for AO and EO staff working in the Work Services
Directorate. AOs and EOs working in DWP
Visiting, National Partnerships Team and Access to Work are not eligible. Also EOs who are work coaches will be
ineligible unless they are in Lancashire and Cumbria, Devon Cornwall and
Somerset, East Anglia, Midland Shires, Surrey and Sussex and Thames Valley
districts.
PCS objected to the rigid targeting of the VES and
the EOI schemes which reduces the opportunities for our members and the numbers
who may want to apply. Previously
management have operated vicinity arrangements to maximise choice and PCS
argued that this should be done again.
PCS continues to demand that we need extra staff
across the department as no area is fully staffed to deliver quality public
services. Whilst management are finally
doing external recruitment to fill some of the staffing gaps, any transfers to
these areas will reduce the numbers being taken in externally from these
recruitment exercises.
PCS voiced strong opposition to the management
decision to reduce the staffing in Work Services Directorate by 7000 which has
been made purely on finance grounds.
Despite official projections for falling unemployment, the pressures and
workloads for our members on frontline remain intensive.
PCS will be meeting with work services management
to raise these concerns about how our members can deliver services on the
frontline if the staffing levels are reduced by this huge amount.
