Thousands of officials at HM Land Registry are set to be balloted on industrial action in a dispute over the government’s 60% office attendance mandate.
PCS said it has notified the non-ministerial department of its intention to ballot more than 3,800 members for strike action and action short of a strike due to concerns over the 60% rule, as well as changes the department has made to work classification and the use of performance data.
Keir Starmer’s government has confirmed that Labour will maintain the three-days-per-week in-office directive introduced by Rishi Sunak’s administration a year ago.
PCS said the 60% rule reduces civil servants’ flexibility, extends their working days due to the need to travel, and has a detrimental impact on their finances and wellbeing, while also specifically causing issues for officials with disabilities and caring responsibilities.
The union also raised concerns about disciplinary processes, which include sanctions for non-compliance with the attendance mandate.
PCS said it is also concerned that some officials are being asked to carry out work normally assigned to more senior staff, under a system where grades have been attached to specific areas of work.
It said the department is using more junior officials to cover a shortfall in staff at higher grades and that this could lead to Land Registry officials losing pay they should be entitled to for working out of grade.
As part of the dispute, PCS is also raising concerns about the department’s use of performance data. The union said it agreed “data principles” for the sharing of individual performance data in 2021 which stated that “individual data may be used”. But it said HM Land Registry has insisted that “individual data must be used” without PCS’s agreement. PCS warned this “could lead to inappropriate use of performance data”.
In a press release, the union said it “believes that we have no option but to ballot members for industrial action in the face of intransigence of HMLR leadership and their failure to address these vital issues”.
“We will continue to seek a negotiated settlement of this dispute,” it added.
An HMLR spokesperson said: “HM Land Registry is disappointed by the decision of the PCS National Executive Committee to ballot its members on these issues.
“We firmly believe that we will continue to improve our service to our customers by ensuring an appropriate level of office attendance (in line with the clear expectations set by ministers), by more effective use of data to manage performance, and by supporting caseworkers with potential to tackle more complex work as part of their training and career progression.”