--oo00oo--
From the Civil Service people survey 2019 HMPPS Overall
E03. Have you been bullied or harassed at work, in
the past 12 months?
Yes 14%
No 78%
Prefer not to say 8%
For respondents who selected 'Yes' to E03.
E03A. How would you describe the nature of the bullying and/or harassment you
experienced? (multiple selection)
Comments about my personal appearance 425
Sexual harassment (e.g. sexual comments or jokes,
unwelcome sexual advances, touching or assault) 247
Spreading gossip or making false accusations about me 1,021
Intimidation or verbal aggression (e.g. shouting,
swearing, making threats) 903
Physical assault (e.g. object thrown at me, pushed, hit) 89
Humiliated in front of team or others 1,220
Negative Micromanagement (e.g. excessive control;
made to feel incompetent) 1,161
Removal of job responsibilities, unconstructive criticism,
or impossible/changing expectations 608
Treated less favourably to others 1,174
Ignored, excluded, marginalised 964
Undermining or taking credit for my work 717
Denied time off for personal ill health 157
Denied time off for family or caring responsibilities 182
Disclosure of personal / sensitive information to
colleagues without my consent 340
Something else not listed here 327
Prefer not to say 137
--oo00oo--
Given the obvious difference in organisational culture between the Prison and Probation Service, isn't it time to separate the survey data? It just might help make the case for a divorce.
If I ever felt that negative about my employer, I would leave. The survey is an excellent opportunity to shape the future. Every year the results are published and my division explain in detail to us what they have done over the year to address the issues raised by the survey. So it is used and it is important.
ReplyDeleteI work in a really good team, it’s others outside of our team that cause the problems. I can honestly say that my division did not explain what it is doing to address the bullying, harassment, humiliation, excessive micromanagement, gossip, favouritism, undermining, etc. These still occur from all grades of the workforce, and the union reps are just as bad.
DeleteWhich union the Napo reps are useless.
DeleteHave you met all of them ?
DeleteThese #peoplesurvey responses are not just attributed to prisons. This is all very rife in #probation too. This stems from the bullying ‘Just Fcuking Do It (JFDI)’ approach of NPS directors and their hand-picked parrot-like senior managers.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, the bullying, harassment and disrespect for colleagues flows from the staff group too. There are bad apples in every #probation team and everyone knows who they are. When found out they go off sick for months thinking we care, when in fact they’re giving us all a well deserved break from their bs.
DeleteAnyone who believes that a bullying culture does not exist within the nps has a problem. It is right there, visible and has been for some time. It is ingrained and is top down, empowering those grades further down to inflict terrible pain quite openly sometimes on their unprotected victims. Target driven work practice makes it much worse.
ReplyDeleteIt's also bottom up
DeleteHear hear. As the person who posted the original gripe yesterday I could not agree with you more #123me. This attitude is all too common I'm afraid. For the record, I would leave in a heartbeat if I could but am stuck in a job where the stress is slowly killing me and robbing me of what little happiness I get from life. I find myself questioning everything I do and it's not pleasant. I also feel awful for the people I let down on an almost weekly basis because I can't keep the promises I make due to the endless demands to meet this bureaucratic deadline or that online training requirement. The message from my manager? Other people in the team have it worse than you! What used to be a rewarding job is now a soulless grind towards retirement if I make it that far. We're told that the 1000 trainees in the pipeline will solve many of the problems. Trouble is, we were told that 20 years ago when they were solving the "Howard Gap" shortfall of officers. It didn't work then and it won't work now. What's needed is a root and branch review of sentencing policy where mental ill health and substance addiction treatment are properly funded and dealt with. We need a clear psychologically informed prison service with enough forensic psychology input to meet the needs of those who need it. How about getting rid of the ludicrously pointless TTG and PSS only designed to fill the pockets of the private sector? There's so much more we could do to make the system more humane and cost effective at the same time. The one dimensional solution of simply throwing more bodies into the meatgrinder sadly reflects a ruling class strategy that goes back centuries. The lives of offenders, frontline staff or anybody who isn't at the top of the tree simply don't matter. Google the lyrics to an old Tom Robinson song called "I'm Alright Jack" for a far better illustration of what I'm on about and you'll see what I mean. It might even raise a smile on this dreary Saturday.
ReplyDeleteToday's posts are a sad, heart-rending read about a profession that was, in my experience (at least until 2000 onwards), one of the few places on the planet where colleagues - and that included managers at all levels - were mostly authentic & supportive.
ReplyDeleteThe shared experiences in that probation world bonded teams, wherever anyone came from - the mines, the armed forces, the police, teaching, the wrong side of the tracks.
There were fallouts & arguments, there was distaste for others' politics, failures to complete tasks - but my formative years in the profession were rooted in comradeship. Mistakes were owned & progress was made. Managers were truly senior colleagues; experienced, knowledgeable, wise (an old fashioned concept).
The 'modernisation' of the probation service has brought many contagious diseases into the profession - envy, greed, naked ambition. It has been well expressed & documented on this blog site that the changing culture within the probation environment is a reflection of the leadership, which is itself a reflection of the wider organisational construct - hierarchy, nepotism, narcissism, conceit, arrogance, selfishness.
In short, its all turned to shit.
And that doesn't bode well for the messages being passed on to those under the supervision of the probation services in England & Wales, because the unhappy, bullied, stressed-out 'responsible person' ain't going to do much positive: just re-read the post of anon@16:38.
I'm deeply saddened by what I've read today and I'm sorry so many people are having those experiences foisted upon them by unreconstructed bullies, passive-aggressive wastrels & greedy, selfish shits.
I think that if there was a national survey of employees in all occupations, many of the sentiments expressed on here today would be echoed across the board.
DeleteWork in todays world is in general transient, insecure and with very little job satisfaction. As a consequence jobs in general suffer from very little personal investment from the individual employee. It's hard to put in personal investment if you're on a zero hour contract, or a nurse constantly flitting from ward to ward or even between hospitals, or if you're sitting in an office being constantly pushed to maximum output, often by those that have far less experience then those they crack the whip over.
Experience is important too, but the lack of personal investment often leads to difficulties in recruitment and staff retention which in turn drains the pool of experience and provides opportunity for those of little experience to climb the promotion ladder.
I thought it very interesting this week to read that the police have now lowered their entry age to just 17. Will we see 23year old Sargents in a couple of years time? Burn out from long service before the age of 40?
The world of work everywhere is quickly becoming an unpleasant necessity for the employee. They don't go to work anymore because they enjoy what they do, or because they feel any sense of personal fulfilment, they go to pay the bills and get gone as soon as possible.
It's all very sad really when work could be so much more for the individual and society.
'Getafix
And here is just one more example of the duplicitous govt twisting the rules for their own & their chums' benefit. Feed the children? Fuck Off!!! Have a business party? In a posh outrageously expensive place with chums? Yes Please!!
ReplyDelete“A table for six? No, sir, that is against the Covid-19 restrictions … unless you promise that your party will discuss business, not pleasure.”
Some of London’s fanciest restaurants have discovered a loophole in the tier-2 coronavirus lockdowns restrictions designed to prevent households from mixing and thereby slow the spread of the virus.
An exemption that the government included in the rules to allow freelancers to work over lunch is being exploited by high-end restaurants encouraging up to 30 people to dine together as long as “the topic is business”.
Downing Street said most cross-household work meals were not permitted, and that they should only happen if there was no other option. But a spokesman indicated that the government was unlikely to take any action against restaurants promoting business lunches.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/24/how-londons-top-restaurants-are-skewering-the-covid-rules
The link to the Independent story (below) has links to petitions
ReplyDeleteA petition against using public money to support MPs’ food costs had received 740,000 signatures by Saturday night.
The petition against public money for MPs' meals calls for “an end to the practice of paying expenses to MPs for food and drink”, and for parliamentary establishments to sell food and drink “at market rates”.
Under current rules, MPs can claim up for food and non-alcoholic drinks when staying outside of London and their constituency, with a limit of up to £25 per night.
And Rashford’s government petition had received more than 750,000. Chef-turned-anti-waste campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall urged people to sign to get the number of names past a million.
Schools are allocated a flat rate of £2.30 per meal.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/petition-mps-food-public-money-hundreds-thousands-free-school-meals-vote-b1260071.html
The bullying in NPS us down to poor lazy management, many of whom would never have been promoted in any other organization.They are often bullies themselves who pick favorites, normally those who kiss up and they normalize bullying and make it acceptable.Anyone who complains is excluded.I'm afraid the whole damn culture is toxic and needs significant reform. Whilst I agree the target driven culture hasn't helped, this behavior goes back to Trust days and many of the old style manages still left from those days, when they thought they were something special are the worst offenders and should be made to go, as their behaviour should not be tolerated and would not be in any other organization.
DeleteI'm Alright Jack
ReplyDeleteDon't you worry, I'm alright, Jack
We've never had it so good
House in Hampstead, fallout bunker
Done everything we could
Fitted the Rolls with a shatterproof windscreen
Soon as we heard the news
Harrods do a nice little teargas
Even a woman can use
All good men at Number Ten
Everything's understood
Don't you worry, I'm alright, Jack
We've never had it so good
Don't you worry, I'm alright, Jack
We've never had it so good
There's plenty of grouse at the country house
We're eating as we should
Hugh's at Sandhurst, everything's safe
With Perkins running the farm
Half a dozen shotguns in the Land Rover
Ready for the call to arms
Gin traps down around the grounds
Trip wires out in the wood
Don't you worry, I'm alright, Jack
We've never had it so good
UB40 Lyrics
ReplyDeleteDon't you give me your hard luck story
I don't care now you voted for me
I know austerity's breaking your back
But I'm alright Jack
Don't complain that there's no state housing
I've bought mine made a profit of thousands
There's not many left but I can't help that
But I'm alright Jack
I'm alright Jack, I'm alright Jack
I'm doing ok, there's no more to say
Everything's going just fine
You're struggling I know but even so
I'm sick of hearing you whine
Don't you tell me you can't get a house
I've got two and I'm renting one out
Ok private landlords are holding you back
But I'm alright Jack
Don't start moaning I don't pay taxes
All of my scams they are legal practise
I'm entitled you can't have it back
And I'm alright Jack
I'm alright Jack, I'm alright Jack
I'm doing ok, there's no more to say
Everything's going just fine
Your struggling I know but even so
You don't have to moan all the time
Hey Mr MP how you a gwarn so
You dun know your job is to feed the people
How come you a feed off of the people
Selassie I know your time coming rude boy
Some questions for you answer ya know
Big and too rich man cha
It must be nice to be able to the buy house where you want
It must be nice to be able to the buy car where you want
It must be nice to be able to the book the flight where you want
And fly around the world and do what ever you want
It must be nice to be able to the book the hotel where you want
Nice to be able to the call the cab when you want
It must be nice to be able to the book the best restaurant
And eat and drink whatever you feel for and want
I'm doing ok, there's no more to say
Everything's going just fine
You're struggling I know but even so
I'm sick of hearing you whine
Don't you tell me you can't get a house
I've got two and I'm renting one out
Ok private landlords are holding you back
But I'm alright Jack
Don't start moaning I don't pay taxes
All of my scams they are legal practise
I'm entitled you can't have it back
And I'm alright Jack
I'm alright Jack, I'm alright Jack
I'm alright Jack, I'm alright Jack
I'm alright Jack, I'm alright Jack
Wikipedia:-
ReplyDeleteI'm alright, Jack is a British expression used to describe those who act only in their own best interests even if assistance to others would necessitate minimal effort on their behalf.
It carries a pejorative tone and is relatively rarely used to describe the speaker: "I limped down the aisle and asked a fellow to move along one seat so I could sit down, but he refused: "I'm alright Jack". So I hit him with my crutch, your Honour."
The phrase is believed to have originated among Royal Navy sailors, where a ladder was slung over the side of a ship, and when the last sailor climbed on board he would say, "I'm alright Jack, pull up the ladder".
The use of the name "Jack" derives from Jack Tar, an archaic term for a British sailor. Another variant of the story depicts the origin of the phrase among sailors returning home from duty who, instead of being treated as brave heroes, were forced to fend for themselves in a dog-eat-dog society.
Latest data provided on 24 October 2020 by the too-little-too-late UK govt led by Prime Idiot Johnson.
ReplyDeletePeople testing positive -
Daily: 23,012
Last 7 days: 148,589
Virus tests processed (data provided on 22 Oct 2020) -
Daily: 340,132
Last 7 days: 2,118,275
Deaths within 28 days of positive test -
Daily: 174
Last 7 days: 1,166
Patients admitted (data provided on 20 October 2020_
Daily: 1,139
Last 7 days: 7,100
FranK.
As the virus continues to thrive, hospitalisations & deaths continue to rise, the UK Govt are desperate to fuck us up even more. What better idea than to REDUCE the quarantine period?
Delete"Ministers are considering reducing the quarantine period for contacts of those who test positive for Covid-19 amid criticism of NHS Test and Trace.
The 14-day period could be cut to 10 or seven days, sources told the BBC.
Concerns have been raised over compliance, with Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin describing a "vacuum of leadership in Test and Trace".
Better yet, the Liars continue to make shit up every time they open their mouths:
Delete"The government said the daily 400,000 test capacity is bigger per head than France, Germany, Italy and Spain."
Their own data shows there has NEVER been capacity for 400,000 tests in the UK to date.
380,049 is the highest capacity figure on 21 Oct.
So much for independence & sovereignty, the easiset deal in history, taking back control, etc etc etc:
ReplyDelete"Johnson will wait for US election result before no-deal Brexit decision
Ivan Rogers, former UK ambassador to the EU, says prime minister will think ‘history was going his way’ if Donald Trump is re-elected
Ivan Rogers, who was the UK’s permanent representative in Brussels from 2013 to 2017, told the Observer that a view shared by ministers and officials he has talked to in recent weeks in several European capitals, is that Johnson is biding his time – and is much more likely to opt for no deal if his friend and Brexit supporter Donald Trump prevails over the Democratic challenger, Joe Biden."
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/oct/24/johnson-will-wait-for-us-election-result-before-no-deal-brexit-decision
More excellent leadership from this excellent government:
ReplyDeleteUK academics say opening of universities was illegal
"On 21 September, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) advised the government to introduce immediate measures that would require universities and colleges to move all their teaching online “unless face-to-face teaching is absolutely essential”. Minutes of the meeting, which were disclosed publicly on 12 October, show that the committee warned that “outbreaks are very likely in universities”, and emphasised that the risk of Covid-19 death and severe disease was higher for university and college workers than for students.
A week after receiving this advice, Williamson reassured MPs about the “safety” of students to return to university campuses, and praised university staff and students for putting themselves in “a safe place” where they would be “out of harm’s way”. He also claimed that the government was providing “robust public health advice and regular updates to the sector”, even though he had not communicated Sage’s advice to UCU, which represents more than 120,000 university and college staff.
After examining all the published figures of Covid-19 cases at universities, UCU found Newcastle, Nottingham, Manchester and Northumbria universities have all reported having more than 1,500 cases of Covid on campus since the start of term."
The thick bastards at Serco, having been massively enriched by the Test&Trace contract, still don't get it so MoJ - not known for being especially bright themselves - have had to issue orders:
ReplyDelete"Escort and security officers working for Serco and other firms have been told to wear face masks in courts and cells amid complaints about inadequate social distancing in the criminal justice system.
The abrupt policy change, which comes into force on Monday, has been imposed by the Ministry of Justice on the outsourcing company, which also runs a widely criticised contact-tracing service for the government that is supposed to limit the spread of coronavirus infections."
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/25/uk-serco-staff-told-to-wear-masks-in-courts-and-cells-after-coronavirus-social-distancing-complaints
Just take all their contracts off them. The UK would be a safer, wealthier country. But I guess Boris was forced to make conciliatory promises to Nick Soames allowing Rupert's company to be pretty much untouchable, irrespective of their evident uselessness.
Spotted this on YouTube under the heading of I'm alright Jack. It's from way back then, but I find it interesting to hear what the Tories say and compare it to the reality of what really happened.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/Jz8CtFTkFyI
'Getafix
So, "from Christmas, nine and a half percent for all mortgages" - straight from the horse's arese
ReplyDeleteMy mortgage was 15% when we first started on the treadmill.
It was an enticement from government for people to buy, knowing that many would not be able to keep up with the repayments, automatically reducing social housing stock and making sure they ended up on the market for their well off mates.
ReplyDeleteSome did very well indeed from the original right to buy and low mortgage rates.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/right-to-buy-housing-shame-third-ex-council-1743338.amp
'Getafix
We're all in this together, we're levelling up the UK
ReplyDelete* if you have the cash you can soon get a 12 minute covid-19 test for just £120
* if you can afford to go to a fancy London restaurant for a business meal, you can sidestep covid-19 rules
* if you run a fancy London restaurant, you're quids in - but more so
* if your children are at a fee-paying school, they're more priveleged than ever in these covid-times
* Parliament votes against feeding starving children
* Parliament looks after its own - pay rises, publicly funded subsidies for anything else you could want, more jobs than you can declare, £thousands for a few hours work
* if your children go to a state school, they're far less likely to have had any learning over lockdown & beyond
* TES - "Schools can't order free laptops for pupils on rotas - DfE adds 100,000 devices to free laptop scheme but also details the circumstances in which schools can't order them... Prior to the lockdown, 700,000 children and young people did not have access to a digital device they could complete schoolwork on. Yet despite the government's promises to provide laptops to ensure no child would be left behind, less than a third of those eligible received the equipment they needed to learn."
The Tories are ensuring that the future is gifted to the children of a wealthy priveleged few; the rest of the kids can fit up chimneys or go down the pit.
Its social cleansing at its most pernicious.
FranK.
More excellent leadership, levelling up & building transparent bridges with northern & muslim communities:
ReplyDeleteHancock tweet 30 July 2020: “The spread is largely due to households meeting and not abiding to social distancing. So from midnight tonight, people from different households will not be allowed to meet each other indoors in these areas.”
Now the government has been criticised by its own Islamophobia adviser, Qari Asim, for refusing to publish the evidence behind Matt Hancock’s claim that people were “not abiding to social distancing” as he imposed a lockdown on 4.6 million people in northern England at the start of the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha.
Hancock made the remark in a late-night Twitter thread on 30 July, when Eid al-Adha started, announcing with three hours’ notice that strict restrictions would be imposed on Greater Manchester, parts of East Lancashire, West Yorkshire and Leicester from midnight.
Asim, a senior adviser to the government, urged ministers to publish the data immediately. He said "We saw a rise of Islamophobia online [in the aftermath of the announcement] and the Muslim communities were seen as the cause of another lockdown."
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/26/hancock-added-to-anti-muslim-hate-with-distancing-claims-says-government-adviser
Prison officer ‘failed to notice’ sex offender dead on cell floor
ReplyDeleteA Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) report read: “The investigation found that the officer who unlocked Mr Maddock’s cell on the morning of 7 December, failed to do a welfare check and therefore did not identify that Mr Maddock was dead on his cell floor. It took another half an hour before other prisoners alerted staff.
“Although this failure did not affect the outcome for Mr Maddock, as it appears he had been dead for some time, it is essential that unlock procedures are carried out correctly so that any welfare needs are identified and addressed as soon as possible.”
several news sources
HMPPS website
ReplyDeletehttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-and-probation-evidence-resource
* Prison and probation evidence resource
Evidence-based information and guidance for individuals and organisations working with people in the care of prison and probation services.
There's a shedload of links on the page - some might even be useful.
FranK.
Also on HMPPS website:
ReplyDeleteThe critical Community Performance Quarterly updates, those targets that management make you break your backs to meet, will be hidden from public view until after "reunification" in July 2021.
Yet another disgraceful, cynical sleight of hand to mask, manipulate & otherwise massage the data to suit the narrative of the Bullies & Liars at Her Majesty's Piss Poor Service.
"Statistics release cancelled
As stated in the previous March 2020 release of this publication, and following the completed consultation period, the release schedule for this publication is moving to an annual cycle, with the next edition reporting full-year outcomes for 2020/21 in July 2021. The contents and structure of the publication will not change and the additional tables on accommodation and employment circumstances will continue to be included. From June 2021, the current performance frameworks for probation will be coming to an end. Our intention from this point onward is to produce a re-designed publication to better fit the new performance monitoring arrangements that will be in place under the Unified Probation Model."
FranK.
Looks like Boris & Rishi are going to sacrifice Gavin at the altar of hungry children. That should get them off the hook:
ReplyDelete"The row at the heart of government over free school meals was laid bare on Monday night when the Treasury insisted Gavin Williamson had never asked for the extra money to fund the half-term extension.
Treasury sources said there had been no request from the education secretary for the £150m to provide meals for 1.4 million disadvantaged pupils during the holiday.
They indicated that the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, was irritated at the suggestion his department was to blame for a row that has led to splits in the Tory party and accusations the government is failing to support some of the poorest children in the country."
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/oct/26/treasury-rejects-claims-it-refused-extra-150m-for-free-school-meals
But even Dishy Rishi is under the kosh:
Delete"The chancellor is under pressure to reveal where his multimillion-pound personal fortune is invested after suggestions that some of his wealth, which is managed by a so-called blind trust, could be held in offshore tax havens... Sunak registered a blind trust in July 2019 after he had been appointed chief secretary to the Treasury under the previous chancellor, Sajid Javid. Under a standard blind trust arrangement individuals can still receive income from their investments but cannot make decisions about how the money is invested.
The campaigners and MPs are concerned that Sunak will know where his money was invested before he placed it in the blind trust, and that raises concerns that his decisions as chancellor could be influenced by his personal stakeholdings."
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/oct/26/sunak-under-pressure-to-reveal-whereabouts-of-his-own-investments
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/26/over-50-tory-mps-in-northern-england-press-pm-for-roadmap-out-of-lockdown
ReplyDeleteThere are some Tory MPs missing from the list of signatories.
I find it hilarious that Esther McVey has signed the letter - it just shows how self-serving the whole stunt is, its about their future seats NOT about the welfare of children or their constituents.
FranK.