The government’s attitude to working conditions has been likened to Victorian bosses in a statement from the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union as HM Land Registry (HMLR) workers vote to strike following a ballot in December.
PCS balloted members at HMLR and other government departments in response to the introduction of mandatory office attendance within the civil service. In October the Civil Service committed to 60% office attendance, which it said ‘continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service’; in a news story published on gov.uk at the time the Cabinet Office said
“Heads of Departments across government have agreed that the Civil Service is best able to deliver for the people it serves by taking a consistent approach to in office working. Heads of Department have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. Senior managers will continue to be expected to be in the office more than 60% of the time.
The approach will allow teams and departments to maximise the benefits of hybrid working and getting the best from being together. The Civil Service approach is comparable to other large private and public sector employers. This reflects the view of Civil Service leaders that there remain clear benefits to spending time working together face-to-face as the government delivers on the Missions commitments.”
The PCS also said members at 14 HMLR offices in England and Wales are “deeply concerned” about what it describes as the ‘inappropriate use of personal data and having to accept extra responsibilities without extra pay.’
Clarifying, a PCS spokesperson said the comments were in relation to individual personal performance and proposed changes to staff grading and classification which could impact individual performance and potentially compromise the accuracy and quality of work.
The union said under the PCS Land Registry GEC agreed “Data Principles” for the sharing of individual performance data in 2021, individual performance data ‘may be used.’ The union asserts without agreement, HMLR have insisted ‘individual data must be used.’ Adding ‘this will worsen HMLR managers’ overreliance on data to assess performance, without making a reasonable assessment of the complexity of caseloads and other factors that impact on performance, and will only lead to additional pressures for increased output.’
There are also concerns about ‘adequate checks and balances on the accuracy and quality of the work’ which could potentially compromise the Register. Changes to ‘Classification’ would allow staff to carry out work applicable to a higher grade, say the union, ‘breaking with established practices whereby specific areas of work are designated for specified grades. There would be no additional payment for this out-of-grade work, it would disguise the resource needed at the higher grade and would reduce future promotion opportunities.’
The results of the ballot have been published with members opting for strike action. Pointing to action by workers within the Office of National Statistics (who have already voted for strike action) and the campaign for the 4-day working week within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote described the attitude of the government as ‘Victorian.’
“The government doesn’t seem to learn that applying arbitrary targets on office attendance doesn’t increase productivity and is unpopular with staff members. If they want a motivated, hard-working workforce, ministers should trust their own employees to have some say over their working conditions, rather than acting like Victorian bosses. It’s not too late for management to avoid strike action by ending this dispute.”
Speaking to Today’s Conveyancer when the ballot was announced, HMLR said it would respond appropriately to minimise impact in the event of a ballot result in favour of strike action adopting similar protocols to those used during the industrial action taken in 2023.
Responding to today’s announcement a HM Land Registry spokesperson said:
“We have received confirmation of the ballot results but have not yet received notification from PCS of any forthcoming industrial action. HM Land Registry will respond as needed to maintain essential services as we have done during previous periods of industrial action.”
4 responses
Unfortunately, HMLR have been in a mess for over a decade now … perhaps this is needed!
It’s scarcely ‘Victorian’ to expect that paid staff attend work. If they don’t want to, let them leave.
(Also: why do they consider ‘Victorian’ an insult or epithet? A lot of things were much better back then!)
The real problems at HMLR are WFH/indolence and pedantry. Most of my applications are Title Create and involve a TP1 or DFL. As of today, I’ve 23 still outctanding from 2023 and 1 from 2022. Those civil servants so keen to go on strike might usefully be replaced by new employees with a better grasp of the job and a swifter turn-round of work.
I so agree. Land Registry after is such a mess and now this Strike over coming into work is madness. If the employees worked in private practise they would be sacked. It is not unreasonable to expect an employee to come into the office 3 days a week. Have they cameras on their pc’s – I suspect not.
I’m sorry but I though that the Land Registry were already on strike judging by the number of applications which are stuck in the system and the general muddle.