Sunday 7 September 2014

TR Week Fourteen

Here goes - another day of crushing anxiety; of processing forms on a crap IT system; of facing accusations of being a dinosaur, a Luddite, a whinger; of grinding my way through innumerable tedious emails full of ersatz enthusiasm for a lost cause, or "instructions", or warnings about IT being "down" or how to "work around" another fuck up (i.e. it don't work properly so we've come up with yet another Heath Robinson solution - "hold your breath, turn around twice, switch it off & on again, do a handstand and it should be okay").

Twenty years so far - I'm now counting the days to any possible exit that might present itself. Its a disgraceful state of affairs when such a critical public service is reduced to a circus clown show by a blinkered government.

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We've lost 5 SPOs over the past year plus 2 x ACO - it has to be said these had all hit 60 but TR put the final nail in the coffin. A recent SPO has resigned in protest at TR and their poor view of our current management.

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As an SPO, we have noted that staff have stopped volunteering for roles like Fire Marshalls, First Aiders, NAPO roles, task and finish groups etc. Goodwill gone, many waiting to see which bidder gets their area and what their proposals are before looking to leave, others waiting for redundancy. Probation, both NPS and CRCs, are watching and waiting to see what the end state is before deciding their intentions. Bidders have an insurmountable barrier to re-engaging staff. 'Motivational speeches' from the CEO of a multi-national will fail to bring most on board and it will be decades before the damage to morale is repaired.

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I work in Manchester, and believe me nothing in the garden is rosy. In the city our cases have still not been reallocated from CRC to NPS. Its horrible beyond words, and I heard that the chief continues to tell lies about how it's just teething problems and so on. Half the service is agency staff and only a handful of people applied for the NPS vacancies, and I heard from a man in the pub that in one office all the CRC staff are off sick, doesn't sound too rosy to me. ITS A MONUMENTAL MELT DOWN ONLY MANAGEMENT DON'T WANT TO ADMIT IT TO SAVE THEIR OWN REPUTATIONS.

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Bullying is probably too strong a word for it but senior management coercion is alive and well in Manchester but then again, listening to their 'Connect' blogs everything in the garden is rosy - there's no delusion like management delusion...
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I still enjoy the craziness - reports on cases from my CRC caseload involve them being given interview appointments with NPS staff. Sometimes (depending on individual staff member) they'll ring me or email for update or discussion; one NPS body asked if I'd (effectively) write the report & email it to them; often there's no consultation. The NPS assessments rarely make it to my desk (a management issue, I do declare); and the proposals have often been unhelpful, even a hindrance, in terms of making progress with my cases.

Recently I had a solicitor ring me from court asking the questions the NPS hadn't asked. They then used the information verbally shared to persuade a District Judge to go with a fine as opposed to the 100 hours unpaid work proposed by NPS.

TR = Totally Rubbish.

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Northumbria CRC have been offered overtime reports, and have been taken up. Hypocrisy from Noms for offering and also the staff completing them. Simply papering over cracks. Maybe if judges and magistrates were aware important deadlines are getting missed it might be highlighted in the media. Sad times.

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Like many others who post here, I get a real sense of a shared struggle, and support, so you can imagine my annoyance when today a Probation colleague from Lancashire, shared the lengths his service is willing to go to cover the cracks. Lancs are asking for volunteers to work over time to write PSR's at £150 a throw, and it is a matter for the author to decide on an SDR/FDR - same price. He went on to say he has booked a week off and has taken 10 reports; he seemed pleased with himself. I did suggest it is people like him willing to paper over the cracks that allow Mr Graylng to spin his lies, about the size of caseloads and the pressure on staff..people like him, and all those who opted for retirement or redundancy, that have popped up covering hostel shifts, for programmes or training, are complicit in the demise of the service and I find it hard to disguise my contempt.

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Hang on, the Lancs body will get a week's leave (paid; lets say £100/day) + £1500 for the 10 reports... £2k for the week. What's not to like about that?

1. Its presumably for NPS PO grade staff only?
2. It screws over any workload calculation
3. It skews any notion of what is achievable by NPS

Okay, there's three fairly good reasons for starters. But at least one PO will see the benefit of market forces. In Lancs' newly found sibling county a fair few POs have (according to gossip) taken several pieces of silver for reports, IT updates and other corporate clean-up tasks.

For those with hefty mortgages, heftier childcare bills and even more demanding credit card debts (cars, holidays, weddings) the attraction is obvious. There's no "bigger picture" when you can clear your own debt.

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Agreed. My area offered overtime yesterday and, 10 mins later, they had enough takers. Complicit is the word. Conversely, no volunteers for fire marshals, first aiders etc. It's all about the money now. Tragic.

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I suspect this isn't quite the 'market' in probation that Grayling envisaged... You simply can't put a price on goodwill, and all those officers papering over the cracks with overtime are going to have a big shock when the money taps get turned off.

For any bidders reading: this is the equivalent of a dodgy car dealer doing a shiny new coat of paint and desperately hoping that you don't look under the bonnet, cos the engine isn't there any more.

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Merseyside are also offering £125 a throw for SDR's... they are being snapped up.

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In Northumbria CRC we are 'assisting' in a workload measurement tool. For the next 4 weeks we have to time how long every task in the day takes, including lunch and breaks. We have been assured that this is not a time sheet, so one wonders why lunch and breaks are included. The cynical side of me thinks that this could be used against us post share sale, given it will be easy to differentiate between PO and PSO work from the data collected. 

Whilst it is supposedly anonymised, it won't take a genius to determine if it's PO or PSO work, given Delius numbers are to be included in any timed work with offenders. To my surprise NAPO have endorsed it! I completely agree a workload formula tool is needed, but why do breaks and lunch need to be in this and surely it can't be properly anonymised if Delius numbers are included? On the subject of Northumbria CRC, we have a new name for the staff magazine "Northumbria Crack" I kid you not! I had to check the calendar to make sure it wasn't April Fools!


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The most ridiculous aspect of the current Northumbria Work load activity is that it's being done at a time when the new supervision framework introduced post split has not been fully implemented and is therefore a complete waste of time and will no doubt require another such exercise in a few months time.

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I would be concerned about having to record lunch breaks, for unless everyone puts down what they are contractually entitled to (ie in this area it is one hour), you are likely to see the eventual erosion of breaks brought about by those who choose not to take them (and thereby skew the data on 'efficiency'). I always take my lunch break ( away from my desk) just as I only work my hours and don't clock up TOIL. It's not about being holier than thou - I just stick to my contract and in doing so do not create an unrealistic expectation about what I can do whilst at the same time preserving my sanity. In fact, the more I think about colleagues being asked to assist with this WMT exercise the more worried I am becoming for all our futures.

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We have completed time sheets for several years in our former trust. 30 mins for lunch is all people take. Lots of staff work over and above their hours and staff in NPS appear demoralised, CRC appears to be a better option at present. If only VR was a real option. Appears to be targeted at corporate staff only. It's an incredibly sad state of affairs and at the end of the day it increases the risk to the general public. Chris Grayling et al forget they are also members of the public in their ivory towers. Sad,sad,sad.

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Northumbria CRC has descended into complete mayhem with the workload measurement exercise. Nobody has the slightest clue what they want us to do. We have to record manually everything we do all day; these are called activities. We then have to put this into Excel everyday summarising all the 'activities' into 'actions' and linking them to a Delius number. If an activity rolls into an action that finishes on the following, or subsequent day; you have to carry it over and summarise the whole action on the day you complete it. 

Confused? Yes us too. Ridiculously long incomprehensible daily e-mails telling us where we're doing it wrong, about 2 hours a day spent trying to do the activity logs (which we've been instructed we can't count as an activity), and the air is blue with swearing frustration. Truly, truly awful.

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Workload weightings seem to have been doing the rounds in probation for years and it never leads to improvements. It is a cousin of Benchmarking and we all know that mischief. Napo supports it because it's supposed to set limits on workloads and protect H&S. In my experience it has never worked. It is time and motion whatever lying management say. Subvert it, inflate it, don't be enslaved by it. And as it has achieved nothing positive in over a decade, Napo should disown it.

41 comments:

  1. Manchester is no longer functioning at any level. Middle managers look like rabbits in the head lights. Staff morale lower than zero. However the heart warming CEO blog is a great source of comfort and reassurance at this time.

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    1. Ok well colleagues in Manchester especially - please keep sending in your tales of woe and the uplifting CEO blogs - we don't want anyone thinking things are ok do we?

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    2. In BeNCH (Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire) there is a publication called 'The Bench Press'. Yes, really.

      I hear that due to a short take up of contributors, staff are being instructed - on a rota basis - to submit contributions.

      “I was not designed to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.”

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    3. Oh brilliant! Can we have some quotes from 'The Bench Press' please?

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    4. Yeah..... "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, I am the great and powerful Grayling"

      And we all join in the chorus to "If I only had a brain".

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    5. in a recent NAPO mtg we were reminded that we were still working to our current job descriptions and that instructions ala 'chair' Children In Need meetings for social workers who maybe on leave are not on. (told to do them for consistency purposes) is not on!! NPS and CRC managers are guilty of making new jobs up as they go along - they are not supposed to do this. In one office NPS PSO have been instructed to write FDRs but this is not part of the job description as we're still working to the one that came in force for the Job Evaluation however some scaremongering going on in that if you don't do as you're told then your job's at risk and this is what's, in part, keeping TR afloat ie people doing whatever for fear of losing either favour with the senior or being seen to being obstructive. Everyone needs reminding to 'play fair'.

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    6. in court teams PSO staff write FDRs as their full time job

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    7. I know and that is an entirely different job description to that of a case carrying PSO. It doesn't mean that all of a sudden it's ok for them to start writing them regardless of the circumstances that is until the Unions have agreed any changes otherwise if, things change and NPS do start getting bigger caseloads then not only are they lumbered with the caseload but also the FDRs - you shouldn't do both - if you are (as I have done in the past) that is when you start having to do extra hours in order to fit everything in and that's not right.

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    8. Manchester - sickening joke! In other areas there are options for CRC PO's to complete PSR's for overtime. Not Manchester - on no! CRC PO's HAVE to do them under the threat of disciplinary action. CRC PO's have been "instructed" to attend RSR and CAS training next week. So, my only supposition is that there is no clear end in sight for Manchester. So, we're doing 2 PSR's per week, holding up to 20 NPS cases on top of a 70 person CRC caseload. Hilarious! I am particularly enjoying the fact that a number of offenders have been transferred around officers so much that they are being terminated with just one contact (induction) and no requirements completed throughout a WHOLE order. Manchester was an unfunny messy joke pre-split. Now, it has officially collapsed. Mind you, if you are to read the chiefs blogs from CRC and NPS they might tell you about the fancy lunches they have been to this week, or tell you we're getting through the teething problems very well! I love our managers, they are so motivating and in-touch.

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  2. Think the feeling of tumbleweed recently might be down to the lack of staff over the Summer. Our county is huge (just under 2,000 square miles). Four of us in the CRC covering the entire area over the Bank Holiday week. The SPO did office duty for us and we took turns to cover the front office because we only had one admin. Unintended consequence of the split, everyone having pre-booked leave at the same time.

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  3. Probation Officer7 September 2014 at 10:43

    What happened to the probation institute - the voice of probation?

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    1. When all the arguments about the PI were going, i felt and said that it was an irrelevance to the fight and I think it is showing to be just that...it is becoming a total irrelevance to Probation and the fight against TR.

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    2. Who cares about the probation institute? The majority of members have been enrolled FREE, so that shows its value to the vast majority of practitioners, right?

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  4. It is speechless

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  5. FROM TWITTER

    BGSW CRC ‏@bgswcrc

    Big week ahead with both Senior Leaders and Middle Managers meeting to review progress in the life of the CRC.
    12:30 PM - 7 Sep 2014

    https://twitter.com/bgswcrc/status/508578086469001216

    BGSWCRC = The Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset And Wiltshire Community Rehabilitation Company Limited. though I cannot find their website, can you help please?

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  6. Point 1: This blog is well read by CEO's and middle managers in Manchester and it can only be a matter of time before censorship is applied
    Point 2: Most middle managers are trying to make things work despite their misgivings- not one middle mnager in Manchester that I have met supports TR-therefore how can they implement the changes with any authority
    Point 3: There is not one CEO (that I am aware of) who has openly come out against the changes. Apologies to you honourable lady or gent if this is the case-please keep trying..after all you have a 3 year protected pay deal (I think) whilst the rest of us are cannon fodder
    Point 4: How many staff are actively involved in the setting up of their mutual CRC in Manchester?
    Point 5: Manchester is relying on agency staff to lurch from crisis to crisis which is not of their making
    Point 6: Manchester's Connect forum however refers to this crisis as 'teething problems'
    Point 7: The Justice Minister fears making any changes as he fears looking weak and politically inept
    Point 8: The Justice minister is weak and inepet.
    Point 9: Those who failed to object to the changes now eargerly grab the chance to write FDRs for £150 a time and in doing so try and prop up a system that is toppling slowly over
    Point 10:So as you can see we are well and truly shafted
    Point 11: However, the dates for signing the contracts keep getting pushed further back
    Point 12: I heard that a reunification strategy was being discussed between the opposition parties last week in case things didnt go according to plan with the sell off
    Point 13: So with all things considered and despite what we are being told via the electronic blogs (Northumbria Crack takes the prize for best title) there is still much to fight for....

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    1. Personally I cannot wait for the contracts to be signed. Things will soon go FUBAR for all those involved it will put paid to any future similar schemes.

      Plus I want to see Sodexo try to make a silk purse out of the sows ear that our trust has descended into!!!

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    2. Northumbria Crack is a real magazine made of paper. It's a complete work of fiction, nothing in it is reflective of what is really happening. We think they have named it after the drug they were smoking when they wrote it.

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    3. This blog would love to see a copy - please contact via email addy on profile page for a forwarding address.

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    4. "This blog is well read by CEO's and middle managers in Manchester and it can only be a matter of time before censorship is applied."

      Bring it on!

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  7. There is a generation of Probation staff out there that earn their living unpicking the flawed thinking of deviant others. They DO NOT fall for spin. I advise management to stop trying to bullshit us. It belittles them and it belittles us.

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    1. if it wasn't for them we'd be in trouble - im eternally grateful to Jim, Andrew Hatton, Tracy, Pat Waterman et al for all their hardwork in exposing the facts.

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  8. Derby's, Notts and Leics CRC has a monthly bulletin called 'Compass'. We've still had no clear indication of which direction we're heading though.... Sorry, I can hear the groans(!).

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    1. Merseyside CRC were asked if we wanted a regular bulletin and my office decided it would be a waste of time as it'd be full of propaganda and we wouldn't have time to read it.

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    2. Derby's, Notts and Leics CRC have just issued a questionnaire of how the staff feel, including how management are doing and tr. Hmm not sure what they are letting themselves in for because probably come back as everything is fine.

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    3. Teesside NPS could not give a flying. For them it's just another JFDI day.

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    4. We had to do a weird 'push button' questionnaire at the launch of our CRC. We were asked hugely loaded questions like 'how important is it to you to feel valued as an employee?' This has been translated into 90+% of staff agreeing with the cultural aspirations of the new company. Statistics lie.

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    5. To Anon 18:19
      WHAT???? I am Teesside NPS and a regular poster, what do you mean??

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    6. Re: survey mentioned at 18:08. It asks if we think that management is 'strong and visible'. Given the question posed by Jim a few weeks ago asking what happened to our leaders as TR was bulldozed through, I can only surmise that they have had a collective irony bypass or perhaps they are being tongue in cheek.

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    7. JFDI: Just F*cking do it. A favourite saying of our ex chief and now embraced by most SPO's when you raise a concern.

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  9. I'm getting a feeling that this whole shebang i.e TR is going down the pan, wonder if we had Ladbrokes on it what would be the odds that contracts are not in place before the next Election? On another thought, if Scotland votes yes, does this mean that Labour cannot count on their seats in Scotland in the forthcoming election?

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  10. That is an interesting point - IF Scotland votes YES - it will still take legislation or a unilateral declaration of Independence (unlikely) to actually make it happen, so maybe the Scots Nats will do very well at the General Election and then have maximum pro Independent Westminster MPs to shape and force the necessary legislation through.

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  11. Too many robots will make it trundle on, reality is 98% of staff don't care who they work for .could be arms dealers for all they care or understand ... Get out whilst you can before even they automones recognise its bad, I did and can do the work we all aspire too

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  12. I think that does 64 per cent of staff a disservice(insert meaningless percentage here) In our area NPS staff are not far from breaking point and the CRC staff are starting to get worried as a lot of them are quiet. ( I know the workload varies between areas and sometimes offices as to which part are overworked i.e CRC or NPS) I think that a lot of people are just trying to get through this and hoping the following day/week/ year will get better. I also think that when or hopefully if the CRC's transfer to the big players, we are going to see a massive cull, They will want to pay SPO's, PO wages, PO's, PSO wages and on and on. It is potentially going to be horrible for all involved.

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    1. how on earth can CRC be quiet - it doesn't make sense as the majority of cases through our courts are low/medium. Everyone in our CRC office has a case 60/70 and that's a lot to keep track of. NPS are quiet as most of theirs are sitting in prison doing long stretches - oh and they're over-staffed.

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    2. As I qualified above, I am aware that it varies from area to area.

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    3. I know what you said and I don't doubt you - my point is that I cant understand how that can be.

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  13. Please stop the CRC/NPS sniping, we are really all in this race to the bottom

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    1. I'm really sorry, just read my post above, it was honestly not meant as a snipe. I totally agree that we are all in a race to the bottom. I was not trying to make out that one was better than the other, apologies if it came across that way.

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    2. I am referring to my post at 18.57 btw

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  14. Off topic, but would Grayling really lie to get his own way??????????


    http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/obiter/no-show-business/5042904.article

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