I'm not sure why, but Operation Protect passed me by on Monday 26th June. No longer being a Napo member, I probably didn't get the email. I certainly didn't catch it on the radio or TV and it doesn't look like it made the news agenda that day at all. Of course this is always the risk when launching any campaign and it all depends on what else was going on a fortnight ago. It's also pretty obvious that unless HMI Justin Russell has a 'Dame Glenys moment' before handing in his staff pass in a month or two, bugger all is going to happen. After all, he's been talking about it since taking office.
Unmanageable probation workloads putting the public at risk, warn unions
Soaring workloads in the probation service are putting the public at risk, warn probation unions today (Monday).
Napo, UNISON and GMB, which represent staff working in the probation service in England and Wales, say crippling workloads will lead to a catastrophic breakdown of the service if the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) does not intervene.
Probation workers are responsible for monitoring people on probation in the community. But a recent restructure and staff shortages are making it extremely difficult to keep tabs on some of the UK’s most dangerous individuals, say the unions.
Employees are buckling under the pressure and many workers are quitting, leaving newly qualified and less experienced staff to take the reins.
Unions fear overstretched staff are being scapegoated for the effects of an under-resourced service, prompting yet more staff to seek employment elsewhere.
Calls for immediate government intervention have gone unheeded, say unions. This has led to the launch of today's campaign aimed at reducing workload.
The three unions are hopeful that the campaign, Operation Protect, will raise wider awareness of the issue and the threat posed to the public.
Napo general secretary Ian Lawrence said: “It would be all too easy for this much-needed campaign to be seen as a negative move from the probation unions. But among the key objectives is a call to senior leaders in probation and His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to play their part by reaching an agreed workload reduction and management strategy with unions. This will allow the service to start to recover from the incessant and damaging changes it has gone through for more than a decade.
“Probation can and must do better with the right levels of investment, but our members need to see that this government is taking their concerns seriously.”
UNISON national officer for police and justice Ben Priestley said: "Probation staff are determined to keep the public safe and rehabilitate those on probation. But overwhelming workloads and staffing shortages have created a dangerous situation, which the government must address."
GMB national officer George Georgiou said: “The probation service has seen 10 years of underfunding and increasing workloads for all its staff. This campaign seeks to address the working conditions for our members who are being made unwell through high workloads. It will also protect staff, the communities they serve and their profession.”
The joint union workloads campaign is being launched later today (Monday) at the MoJ.
--oo00oo--
Dear Xxxxxx
Operation Protect to protect the public, protect our members and protect our profession
Today sees the launch of the Joint Probation Unions' Operation Protect.
It’s the start of a campaign that the unions will be conducting right through to the next General Election, before which we will be lobbying the main political parties to set out their blueprint for the Probation Service. There are five principle objectives to the campaign and members should be receiving material from your Napo representatives today to help you promote these.
1. Work with Ministers, HMPPS, HMIP, Probation Institute, Sentencers & Statutory Partners to agree a strategic probation workload reduction programme by:
Reviewing existing legislative demands which do not add value to core probation work; Identifying other upstream demand reduction; Eliminating or reducing bureaucratic demands which do not add value to core probation work; Identifying and addressing barriers to productivity; Surveying the workforce for their ideas on workload reduction; Agreeing a Probation Workloads Reduction Toolkit; Agreeing a Probation Service equivalent of the Prison Service ‘Operation Safeguard’ to allow the Service to declare to external stakeholders that it is full, and that normal service cannot be provided pending more resources.
Be jointly agreed between the probation unions and the employer; Ensure that each employee’s workload is regularly assessed; Provide staff and managers with the tools to prioritise certain work and to agree which work should be suspended (temporarily or permanently); Respect probation practitioners’ professional judgement about workload capacity which if they were covered by an independent professional registration body might require them to declare any excessive workload which might affect their fitness to practice; Take contingency action when workloads exceed staffing capacity.
Agreeing appropriate supervisor to staff ratios; Employing more supervisors as necessary; Providing training, support and mentoring to supervisors; Ensuring that supervisors have authority to reduce workloads via decisions on case allocation.
An employer pledge to prevent workloads above capacity – to be shared with external stakeholders; The right for staff to work contracted hours only – no quibble guarantee; Voluntary overtime to be offered to staff who wish to offer more time to the employer; The overtime seniority bar to be removed.
Undertaking the necessary risk assessments; Taking measures to remove stress; Taking measures to support staff to remain in work.
Help us to achieve the changes needed to restore Probation as a Gold standard service
Members in Napo, UNISON and GMB/Scoop are making it clear that they have had enough of the egregious damage that has been done to their profession over nearly a decade of interference and mismanagement by Government. Numerous reports from HM Inspectorate of Probation have vindicated the warnings that the union issued many years ago about the long-term impact of the disastrous decision to part-privatise Probation back in 2014.
While everyone welcomes the reunification that took place two years ago, and the tremendous efforts by our members to help make that possible, the subsequent failure to adequately reinvest, pay people a competitive salary and control unsustainable workloads, has led to a severe loss of morale, and serious shortages of experienced staff who can help mentor new entrants to the service.
Today marks an important start to our campaign and more news will follow about engagement events with members and other public facing events that will be designed to draw the attention of politicians and stakeholders to the importance of Probation within the Criminal Justice System.
Meanwhile, please spread the message, especially amongst colleagues whom you know are not currently in a trade union, to consider joining Napo and to play a part in this important collective campaign.
Visit the website for photos from today’s launch and access to additional leaflets if required.
Ian Lawrence Helen Banner
General Secretary National Chair
26th June 2023
Workloads and Staffing in Probation: A Briefing by Napo
The Probation Service has experienced serious staff shortages since the implementation of the privatisation reform programme in 2014. This has largely been due to the incorrect allocation of staff (too few in the National Probation Service and too many transferred into the private Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC). This led to the private providers making huge numbers of redundancies during their contracts. Since the welcome reunification of the service in June 2021, it has become very apparent that there is now a staffing crisis resulting in dangerously high caseloads, which in turn has led to a serious recruitment and retention issue. Despite the attempts to undertake a mass recruitment drive in the last two years, staff shortages and workloads have become critical. This briefing highlights a few key examples (but is in no way exhaustive) of the impact this is having on staff, public protection and the overall functioning of the service.
London:
In one Probation Delivery Unit (PDU) alone there are approximately 650 unallocated cases. Unallocated cases are put into a reporting system where they are seen, but usually by a different officer each time and clients/service users are simply asked if they have any issues rather than any meaningful offence focused work being carried out.
On average, staff in this PDU are on 192% of the workload management tool meaning that staff are being expected to carry out double their usual workload.
A newly qualified officer (NQO) was on 118% of the Workload Management Tool (WMT) just 2 days after qualifying, when NQO’s should be on a protected caseload for the first year of service. Whilst the target staffing for this area has yet to be worked out, it is clear from these figures that there are significant shortages.
East Midlands:
The BBC have contacted Napo to say that they have received an anonymous letter from a Probation Officer in this region stating that they were on 130% of the workload management tool. The practitioner was deeply concerned that this was unsustainable, and will lead to errors and failures in public protection. Napo is already aware of one Serious Further Offence (SFO) in this region and whilst the investigation into this is still ongoing Napo believes that staff shortages and workloads is likely to be a contributory factor with staff simply not having the time or capacity to properly assess cases and manage them appropriately. Napo is very aware that this will likely lead to individuals taking the blame for something that can be directly attributed to the wider organisational crisis affecting the service.
Napo are also aware of further reports that the region has numerous teams with Probation officers and Probation Service Officers (unqualified staff) at 130% plus on the WMT.
Staffordshire West Midlands:
Due to the Staffs West Midlands Region re-organising staff to try and combine legacy CRC and NPS staff, a number of colleagues have been asked to express their preferences for where they would like to work.. A large number of staff expressed a desire to get out of Offender Management (holding a caseload of clients) and have tried to go into Court teams or other areas of the business where the role does not require them to hold client caseloads. This has resulted in a completely new court team in Birmingham, which now contains many staff with inexperience of this important work. In addition, a lot of staff are unhappy about where they have been allocated and have appealed adding to the issues described above.
It is now becoming normal for practitioners to have caseloads of 130-150%. There is also at least one case of a PQUiP (Trainee Officer) being allocated a caseload between these figures. There is also some evidence to suggest some colleagues have 170% against the WMT.
Wales:
Napo has seen evidence that staff are on over 150% on the WMT.
Warwickshire and West Mercia:
Staff have submitted Foreseeability Notices to managers due to excessive workloads and concerns of Health and Safety risks to staff. Caseloads fluctuate between 135% - 145% on the WMT.
Risks:
The Probation Service has experienced staffing and workload crisis’ before. In the 2000’s there were two very prominent SFO’s: namely the: Sonnex case and Hanson and White. Both were subject to full reviews, and in both instances excessively high caseloads were found to be a significant factor in the failings in risk management which led to the commission of these offences and ultimately the death of their victims.
Napo is deeply concerned that we will see an increase in SFO’s which is a serious public protection issue. We are also concerned that this will lead to individuals being held accountable for something that is, in our view, an organisational failing. Under such circumstances Napo will do all it can to defend our members against ‘scapegoating.’
Recruitment & Retention:
The current Civil Service centric recruitment process for Probation Officers is flawed; especially for internal candidates who are being asked to use personality tests that take no account of an individual’s experience. As such, experienced Probation Service Officers who wish to progress to qualification are finding themselves in a dead end job with minimal chance of progression. Napo is aware that there are some internal candidates who whilst being successful in the application process, have had their start date for training postponed as staff shortages mean they cannot be released from their current roles. Many staff are now leaving due to the relentless pressure they find themselves under. Some are leaving shortly after qualifying, which is a waste of talent and public funds.
Staff Personal Testimonies:
“I am leaving the Service end of March after 21 years. I am passionate about what I do and there are aspects of my job that I love, but I cannot continue to look after myself in these circumstances any longer – it is detrimental to my physical health now and mental health – something that my employers pretend to care about and make a lot of noise about – whilst nothing changes on the ground. I have seen so many people leave including new qualified Staff as they just burn out rapidly and the support is not there, they cannot see it getting better.”
“Staffing is a serious concern & it’s always jam tomorrow with PQiP’s coming soon but they cannot be expected to hold the organisation together & don’t actually solve the problem. Firstly data collection & admin continue to dominate the case manager role . The duplication & lack of efficient systems is frustrating.
Also management of this Probation Service always take easy options with staffing & fail to make the tough calls about ensuring experienced & adequate staff are in the front line”
What Next?
Napo is fully aware that this situation cannot be resolved overnight. However, we strongly believe that senior leaders and the Secretary of State for Justice have so far failed to fully grasp the situation or developed a short, medium or long term strategy to ensure the service can run effectively going forward. Whilst a workload management strategy is currently being developed and negotiated, this includes a formal process that will allow staff with unreasonable workloads to “miss out” certain tasks to relieve their workloads. This is a damming indictment of where we are at in this ever growing crisis. Napo is demanding a full staffing review to be carried out and for regional vacancies to be identified and published alongside detailed strategy.
Probation staff have effectively run out of good will and are exhausted. The lack of a pay rise, despite their ongoing hard work has added further insult to injury. Probation needs real investment, not in gimmicks such as an expansion of electronic monitoring which has serious limitations in terms of actually reducing reoffending, but in a well-supported and decently paid workforce.
Questions you may wish to ask:
1. Whilst HMPPS is currently going through a large recruitment drive, what steps are being taken to address the issues of retention for probation, what are the short, medium and long term plans to alleviate workload pressures for existing staff and what are the target staffing numbers for each region?
2. Will the Minister direct the National Probation Service to enter into meaningful pay talks with all three probation Trade Unions and what assurances can he give to staff that he will ensure that there is a decent pay rise?
3. What assurances can the Minister give that public protection and rehabilitation will not be jeopardised as a result of the workloads and staffing crisis in probation?
4. Will the Minister take full responsibility for any serious further offences that occur as a result of dangerous workloads and severe staff shortages in probation and can he assure staff that they will not be blamed?
5. What financial investment will the probation service receive to improve recruitment and retention in the service and ensure that staff feel valued?
6. Will the Minister order a full staffing review to identify how many vacancies there are and in what regions?
Tania Bassett
Napo: National Official
BR02-22
21st January 2022
Dear Xxxxxx
Operation Protect to protect the public, protect our members and protect our profession
Today sees the launch of the Joint Probation Unions' Operation Protect.
It’s the start of a campaign that the unions will be conducting right through to the next General Election, before which we will be lobbying the main political parties to set out their blueprint for the Probation Service. There are five principle objectives to the campaign and members should be receiving material from your Napo representatives today to help you promote these.
1. Work with Ministers, HMPPS, HMIP, Probation Institute, Sentencers & Statutory Partners to agree a strategic probation workload reduction programme by:
Reviewing existing legislative demands which do not add value to core probation work; Identifying other upstream demand reduction; Eliminating or reducing bureaucratic demands which do not add value to core probation work; Identifying and addressing barriers to productivity; Surveying the workforce for their ideas on workload reduction; Agreeing a Probation Workloads Reduction Toolkit; Agreeing a Probation Service equivalent of the Prison Service ‘Operation Safeguard’ to allow the Service to declare to external stakeholders that it is full, and that normal service cannot be provided pending more resources.
2. Agree a safe workloads and case allocation system which will:
Be jointly agreed between the probation unions and the employer; Ensure that each employee’s workload is regularly assessed; Provide staff and managers with the tools to prioritise certain work and to agree which work should be suspended (temporarily or permanently); Respect probation practitioners’ professional judgement about workload capacity which if they were covered by an independent professional registration body might require them to declare any excessive workload which might affect their fitness to practice; Take contingency action when workloads exceed staffing capacity.
3. Ensure that all staff have high quality supervision, when and how they need it, to manage workload effectively by:
Agreeing appropriate supervisor to staff ratios; Employing more supervisors as necessary; Providing training, support and mentoring to supervisors; Ensuring that supervisors have authority to reduce workloads via decisions on case allocation.
4. Give probation staff the confidence, tools and support to challenge excessive workloads by:
An employer pledge to prevent workloads above capacity – to be shared with external stakeholders; The right for staff to work contracted hours only – no quibble guarantee; Voluntary overtime to be offered to staff who wish to offer more time to the employer; The overtime seniority bar to be removed.
5. Reach an Employee Care Agreement with the Probation Service to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of probation staff by:
Undertaking the necessary risk assessments; Taking measures to remove stress; Taking measures to support staff to remain in work.
Help us to achieve the changes needed to restore Probation as a Gold standard service
Members in Napo, UNISON and GMB/Scoop are making it clear that they have had enough of the egregious damage that has been done to their profession over nearly a decade of interference and mismanagement by Government. Numerous reports from HM Inspectorate of Probation have vindicated the warnings that the union issued many years ago about the long-term impact of the disastrous decision to part-privatise Probation back in 2014.
While everyone welcomes the reunification that took place two years ago, and the tremendous efforts by our members to help make that possible, the subsequent failure to adequately reinvest, pay people a competitive salary and control unsustainable workloads, has led to a severe loss of morale, and serious shortages of experienced staff who can help mentor new entrants to the service.
Today marks an important start to our campaign and more news will follow about engagement events with members and other public facing events that will be designed to draw the attention of politicians and stakeholders to the importance of Probation within the Criminal Justice System.
Meanwhile, please spread the message, especially amongst colleagues whom you know are not currently in a trade union, to consider joining Napo and to play a part in this important collective campaign.
Visit the website for photos from today’s launch and access to additional leaflets if required.
Ian Lawrence Helen Banner
General Secretary National Chair
26th June 2023
--oo00oo--
I don't think we covered this Napo briefing from last January:-
Workloads and Staffing in Probation: A Briefing by Napo
The Probation Service has experienced serious staff shortages since the implementation of the privatisation reform programme in 2014. This has largely been due to the incorrect allocation of staff (too few in the National Probation Service and too many transferred into the private Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC). This led to the private providers making huge numbers of redundancies during their contracts. Since the welcome reunification of the service in June 2021, it has become very apparent that there is now a staffing crisis resulting in dangerously high caseloads, which in turn has led to a serious recruitment and retention issue. Despite the attempts to undertake a mass recruitment drive in the last two years, staff shortages and workloads have become critical. This briefing highlights a few key examples (but is in no way exhaustive) of the impact this is having on staff, public protection and the overall functioning of the service.
London:
In one Probation Delivery Unit (PDU) alone there are approximately 650 unallocated cases. Unallocated cases are put into a reporting system where they are seen, but usually by a different officer each time and clients/service users are simply asked if they have any issues rather than any meaningful offence focused work being carried out.
On average, staff in this PDU are on 192% of the workload management tool meaning that staff are being expected to carry out double their usual workload.
A newly qualified officer (NQO) was on 118% of the Workload Management Tool (WMT) just 2 days after qualifying, when NQO’s should be on a protected caseload for the first year of service. Whilst the target staffing for this area has yet to be worked out, it is clear from these figures that there are significant shortages.
East Midlands:
The BBC have contacted Napo to say that they have received an anonymous letter from a Probation Officer in this region stating that they were on 130% of the workload management tool. The practitioner was deeply concerned that this was unsustainable, and will lead to errors and failures in public protection. Napo is already aware of one Serious Further Offence (SFO) in this region and whilst the investigation into this is still ongoing Napo believes that staff shortages and workloads is likely to be a contributory factor with staff simply not having the time or capacity to properly assess cases and manage them appropriately. Napo is very aware that this will likely lead to individuals taking the blame for something that can be directly attributed to the wider organisational crisis affecting the service.
Napo are also aware of further reports that the region has numerous teams with Probation officers and Probation Service Officers (unqualified staff) at 130% plus on the WMT.
Staffordshire West Midlands:
Due to the Staffs West Midlands Region re-organising staff to try and combine legacy CRC and NPS staff, a number of colleagues have been asked to express their preferences for where they would like to work.. A large number of staff expressed a desire to get out of Offender Management (holding a caseload of clients) and have tried to go into Court teams or other areas of the business where the role does not require them to hold client caseloads. This has resulted in a completely new court team in Birmingham, which now contains many staff with inexperience of this important work. In addition, a lot of staff are unhappy about where they have been allocated and have appealed adding to the issues described above.
It is now becoming normal for practitioners to have caseloads of 130-150%. There is also at least one case of a PQUiP (Trainee Officer) being allocated a caseload between these figures. There is also some evidence to suggest some colleagues have 170% against the WMT.
Wales:
Napo has seen evidence that staff are on over 150% on the WMT.
Warwickshire and West Mercia:
Staff have submitted Foreseeability Notices to managers due to excessive workloads and concerns of Health and Safety risks to staff. Caseloads fluctuate between 135% - 145% on the WMT.
Risks:
The Probation Service has experienced staffing and workload crisis’ before. In the 2000’s there were two very prominent SFO’s: namely the: Sonnex case and Hanson and White. Both were subject to full reviews, and in both instances excessively high caseloads were found to be a significant factor in the failings in risk management which led to the commission of these offences and ultimately the death of their victims.
Napo is deeply concerned that we will see an increase in SFO’s which is a serious public protection issue. We are also concerned that this will lead to individuals being held accountable for something that is, in our view, an organisational failing. Under such circumstances Napo will do all it can to defend our members against ‘scapegoating.’
Recruitment & Retention:
The current Civil Service centric recruitment process for Probation Officers is flawed; especially for internal candidates who are being asked to use personality tests that take no account of an individual’s experience. As such, experienced Probation Service Officers who wish to progress to qualification are finding themselves in a dead end job with minimal chance of progression. Napo is aware that there are some internal candidates who whilst being successful in the application process, have had their start date for training postponed as staff shortages mean they cannot be released from their current roles. Many staff are now leaving due to the relentless pressure they find themselves under. Some are leaving shortly after qualifying, which is a waste of talent and public funds.
Staff Personal Testimonies:
“I am leaving the Service end of March after 21 years. I am passionate about what I do and there are aspects of my job that I love, but I cannot continue to look after myself in these circumstances any longer – it is detrimental to my physical health now and mental health – something that my employers pretend to care about and make a lot of noise about – whilst nothing changes on the ground. I have seen so many people leave including new qualified Staff as they just burn out rapidly and the support is not there, they cannot see it getting better.”
“Staffing is a serious concern & it’s always jam tomorrow with PQiP’s coming soon but they cannot be expected to hold the organisation together & don’t actually solve the problem. Firstly data collection & admin continue to dominate the case manager role . The duplication & lack of efficient systems is frustrating.
Also management of this Probation Service always take easy options with staffing & fail to make the tough calls about ensuring experienced & adequate staff are in the front line”
What Next?
Napo is fully aware that this situation cannot be resolved overnight. However, we strongly believe that senior leaders and the Secretary of State for Justice have so far failed to fully grasp the situation or developed a short, medium or long term strategy to ensure the service can run effectively going forward. Whilst a workload management strategy is currently being developed and negotiated, this includes a formal process that will allow staff with unreasonable workloads to “miss out” certain tasks to relieve their workloads. This is a damming indictment of where we are at in this ever growing crisis. Napo is demanding a full staffing review to be carried out and for regional vacancies to be identified and published alongside detailed strategy.
Probation staff have effectively run out of good will and are exhausted. The lack of a pay rise, despite their ongoing hard work has added further insult to injury. Probation needs real investment, not in gimmicks such as an expansion of electronic monitoring which has serious limitations in terms of actually reducing reoffending, but in a well-supported and decently paid workforce.
Questions you may wish to ask:
1. Whilst HMPPS is currently going through a large recruitment drive, what steps are being taken to address the issues of retention for probation, what are the short, medium and long term plans to alleviate workload pressures for existing staff and what are the target staffing numbers for each region?
2. Will the Minister direct the National Probation Service to enter into meaningful pay talks with all three probation Trade Unions and what assurances can he give to staff that he will ensure that there is a decent pay rise?
3. What assurances can the Minister give that public protection and rehabilitation will not be jeopardised as a result of the workloads and staffing crisis in probation?
4. Will the Minister take full responsibility for any serious further offences that occur as a result of dangerous workloads and severe staff shortages in probation and can he assure staff that they will not be blamed?
5. What financial investment will the probation service receive to improve recruitment and retention in the service and ensure that staff feel valued?
6. Will the Minister order a full staffing review to identify how many vacancies there are and in what regions?
Tania Bassett
Napo: National Official
BR02-22
21st January 2022
It wasn't entirely missed, JB:
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 26 June 2023 at 13:17
Theres 3 times as many people on probation as there are in prison. Far too many given theres no benefit for them being there in the first place.
https://www.unison.org.uk/news/press-release/2023/06/unmanageable-probation-workloads-putting-the-public-at-risk-warn-unions/
'Getafix
Reply: Anonymous 26 June 2023 at 15:27
What they say: "In June 2014, 35 probation trusts were abolished, and probation work was divided between two separate organisations..."
What they don't say: Between 2015 & 2019 - despite Grayling's assurances & a national agreement reached with MoJ - hundreds of staff were "released" by the privately owned CRCs under various severance arrangements, most being cheated out of their entitlement to enhanced redundancy payments.
What they say: "After a long campaign by Napo, UNISON and GMB the service was eventually re-unified into public ownership in June 2021."
What they don't say: After the inevitable disaster that was TR, the govt had no choice other than to cut the privatisation experiment short. So yes, Probation staff may have been re-unified, but not in the independent organisation they came from. moj/hmpps enacted yet another transfer of employment scam upon probation staff whereby they are now trapped inside hmpps as ersatz civil servants.
Napo: “It would be all too easy for this much-needed campaign to be seen as a negative move from the probation unions... Probation can and must do better with the right levels of investment”
No, it doesn't sound very supportive; in fact it sounds more like a hmpps press release.
£80k a year from members' coffers...
Drat! I should have checked. Might have known 'Getafix would be on the case when I was too busy getting the car in for a long-overdue service that day.
DeleteBy the way, hope the 'Protect and Survive' reference isn't lost on everyone and especially those of a certain age.
"In 1980, the UK government made this Protect and Survive booklet available. It provided advice on what to do in the event of a nuclear attack..."
DeleteThe 80's version of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMnKNHNfznE
So Lawro is now invoking the 'nuclear' option?
hahahahahahahahaha
Could we campaign to reduce PSS to 3 months? Any useful and agreed resettlement work can be done in that time. The lengthy PSS contributes to heavier sentencing, exposes us to organizational risk and achieves nothing but uses up resources we do not have.
ReplyDelete“We”? That’s what your bosses are for mate.
DeleteThere’s no “we” when we’re telling them too much work and not enough pay!
I actually think this is an excellent idea...there's less incentive for judges to sentence to community orders, when any prison sentence has a year of probation supervision attached to it anyway!
DeleteCompletely agree- P.S.S is little more than Probation top-up and it clogs case levels; the service users don't have a buy-in for it- half of them think that once you're out of prison your sentence is served anyway; they really do! And P.S.S is often abused because of its lack of teeth. Sentencing in general should be looked at- as it might reduce caseload burdens and cases becoming little more than a tick box warehousing of service users. If A knows what B is doing and then C might not feel so put upon and exhausted. We need to work together- not a glib corporate mantra, but to protect us and A and B that don't understand how overworked we are.
DeleteToo complicated.
ReplyDeleteOffer better pay and employ more staff.
Get rid of all the managers and start again.
Relocate anyone in the same job more than 10 years.
Simple as that.
Grayling introduced 40,000 more people to the probation caseload with the 12mts and under cohort. It wasn't an act of concern for their welfare or even a concern for public welfare, it was simply to make his payment by results model more attractive to the private companies he hoped would be bidding for TR contracts.
DeletePbyR was effectively piecework, the more people you have to work with the more money you can make.
Introducing this group to probation and post custody supervision has had a tremendous impact on probation and prisons, aswell too the people being subjected to this process.
It's imposed a huge inflationary consequence on both resources and workloads and to what benefit? At best probation signposts them to other services, the same services that any homeless charity or addiction service would signpost to.
The same services citizens advice would sign post to! At worst it keeps those on supervision on the CJ treadmill and back fills the prisons through recall. And really if probation had any benefit for this cohort, then they'd be sent to probation straight from the courts rather the via the prison system first.
Until TR it was understood the impact this particular group would have if subjected to post custody supervision, and that's why they were never subjected to it.
TR was an expensive unmitigated disaster and everything about it has been reversed except that is the introduction of the 12mth and under cohort.
I think it's time that too is now reversed.
Protect and Survive?
The unions have an obligation to protect the terms and conditions of their membership. They have a duty to fight to keep their jobs.
But I'm just wondering when it comes to the service itself just what parts of it in its current format would they want to protect and maintain its survival?
'Getafix
The unions are ineffective mate. If they had any clout then TR wouldn’t have happened in the first place. Pointless thinking it’s anything else.
DeleteI don't think we ever needed clout we need a capable leader. All unions but especially Napo. We had a perfectly fit for purpose workloads employee care policy . It was national agreements on local arrangement . It was fought for including strike action and laid out steps managers are required to follow when over weighted work was reached. Ian Lawrence has colluded to dispose of the agreement but it's there. If you want to survive you need the right tools . Not the Ian Lawrence tool. we need a real able commited non collusive leader but most of all we need to awaken the terms of that policy which use the health and safety legislation to protect. It is the only way we could register a formal.action as dispute and strike until workloads are managed this is the way to survive.
DeleteWill a bit of divine intervention help?
Deletehttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/08/bishops-look-after-ex-convicts-probation-service/
"Convicted criminals are an unpredictable set of people, and the stakes are high: if contractors take their eyes of the ball and their clientele break the law, people will get hurt." Civil Service World, 2014
DeleteIf getafix doesn't mind, I'd like to slightly rephrase his opening observation:
"Grayling introduced 40,000 more people to the probation caseload with the 12mts and under cohort. It wasn't an act of concern for their welfare or even a concern for public welfare, it was a cynical political move to make his payment by results model more attractive to the private companies he was bribing to bid for TR contracts."
“What works is working across the piece with local partners – so they’ll be highly incentivised to do that.” Antonia Romeo, 2014
And they *were* bribed. They were given a sackful of assets (much of which they cashed in & pocketed), they were allowed to lose staff with impunity, they were given employees' EVR money without *any* checks or balances as to where it went, they were handed £half-a-billion of public funds which mostly disappeared into overseas bank accounts.
Not one single person has ever been held to account for this egregious & scandalous theft of vast sums of public money. It *was* theft. It was taken without consent.
Grayling was the politician who expedited the fraud.
Romeo was the Senior Responsible Officer: “The Cabinet Office has a very clear process for awarding contracts... NOMS has a business assurance board designed to give me, the senior responsible officer, the assurance that this is going to work... My job as senior responsible officer is to make sure we deliver the benefits of the programme.”
The CRC owners, senior managers & Romeo herself certainly saw the benefits, but frontline probation staff didn't: “We’re seeking to allow those that move out to the CRCs the freedom and innovation to bring in new and better ways of doing things.”
Those that were pushed out, the hundreds of staff who were shafted against their will, found themselves in nightmare scenarios facing pre-determined numbers of job losses written into contracts which were *approved* by the unions.
The current 1984 Ministry of JFDI has blossomed out of the carnage that was TR such that policiticans & their right-leaning lackeys are now fully in control of probation.
“The CRC owners, senior managers & Romeo herself certainly saw the benefits, but frontline probation staff didn't:”
DeleteNow we’re the “unified” probation service.
Same senior managers running the show.
Same frontline probation officers suffering.
Total shit show.
Pay is fine and proportionate with like professions. Focussing on the impossible caseloads, double keying and nonsense tasks is long over due.
DeleteThey didn't do this alone. Remember Napo unison both failed to challenge in courts the failure to pay evr despite the contractual position. Ian Lawrence was intentional in his conduct to protect the crcs I know this and witnessed many deliberate diversions he was scared of being exposed . He is not genuine for his pay masters. By agreeing staff redundancies he betrayed his primary job responsibilities but by the hand picked top table he has avoided any scrutiny.its is a fact the weak and pathetic nec Followed The leader than act as accountable officers for the membership. For him the incompetence of those around has allowed us all to be shafted.
Delete“Pay is fine and proportionate with like professions.”
DeleteNo it is not. For a graduate profession involving so much responsibility, accountability and qualifications the probation officers are way underpaid compared to similar professions.
Is it really still a graduate profession. Is it still really a profession at all?
Deletehttps://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/23633494.recruitment-drive-launched-across-hampshire-probation-workers/
It has never been that highly skilled and certainly no other comparable profession . Social work rates higher in all its forms. Dealing with criminal has been highly regarded so get over yourselves. Offenders are not stacked with qualified backgrounds and are generally meek and compliant with all the rubbish probation spews out. On top of the very subjective attitudes old guard probation used to be. I prefer the regulation today it prevents the old professional who thought they knew best and go on muck up people's lives. Old probation never again today's is just a monitoring platform low skill low rent low pay get used to it . The role is clerical simple and follows a set standard withing pre determined outcomes no need for thinking.
Delete1412 yes and I recall these managers saying how good it is in CRC tossers then and still.
DeleteI agree with the many comments about the shameful things that happened during the Probation CRC years. Given that many of the same Senior Managers from CRC are now running the National Probation Service, there needs to be a full review of what happened during the CRC years. There was much wrong doing and, in my view breaking of the law, by Senior Managers at this time and this must be exposed and dealt with if Probation is to ever be fixed. The CRC years were not an irrelevant historical twist but a legacy which is still harming Probation right now. I would like to see a McPherson type review (the Metropolitan Police investigation) into the current and recent running of Probation by both NPS and former CRC Senior Managers. I would encourage investigative journalists to dig up this huge untold story and shine a light into this corrupted organisation. If this should happen I am sure that many frontline Probation Officers and Probation Service Officers would be willing to testify given the huge level of anger and despair so many of us are feeling. This is my challenge to British Journalists.
ReplyDeleteBear in mind that Senior Managers from CRC and Senior Managers from the National Probation Service were and are all as bad as each other.
DeleteWith regard to all this talk of people leaving the service in droves - where are they going? Can I go? Where do I apply?! Does anyone have the number/website details?!?
ReplyDeleteA reminder of some key aspects of the staff transfer agreement in 2013:
ReplyDeleteThe Ministry of Justice has determined that transfers of employment will be undertaken by way of statutory Staff Transfer Scheme(s), supported by the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice on Staff Transfers in the Public Sector (COSOP)...
... The Cabinet Office Statement of Practice, January 2000 (Revised November 2007) (‘COSOP’) will be followed. In COSOP the employees involved in such transfers will be treated no less favourably than if TUPE applied in relation to protecting statutory continuity of employment, existing terms and conditions, including occupational pensions...
... • Continuation of National Collective Bargaining - national collective bargaining arrangements will be continued with the recognised trade unions. These arrangements, which will replicate the existing NNC and SCCOG machinery appropriately reconstituted, will be recognised in formal Constitutions agreed
by 31 May 2014...
... The CRCs and NPS will adopt the existing NNC and SCCOG National Agreements on Pay and Conditions of Service for all staff...
... , the commercial contracts will specify that, other than where more beneficial terms exist, where voluntary redundancy is offered, the enhanced terms set out at Appendix B should apply to any member of staff in a CRC employed by a Probation Trust on 31 May 2014...
... The MoJ has confirmed that the sale of shares in the CRC to the new provider does not constitute a TUPE transfer of undertakings as there is no change of employer, merely a change of ownership of the shares in the employer company. Following the share sale, the employer will continue to be the CRC and the relationship between the employer, recognised trade unions and employees is unchanged. Existing NNC and SCCOG National Agreements on Pay and Conditions of Service will therefore continue to be the terms and conditions for all staff...
@21:02 is correct when they say "The CRC years were not an irrelevant historical twist but a legacy which is still harming Probation right now."
DeleteTo emphasise an important point once again:
"the commercial contracts will specify that, other than where more beneficial terms exist, WHERE ***VOLUNTARY REDUNDANCY*** IS OFFERED, THE ENHANCED TERMS SET OUT IN APPENDIX B SHOULD APPLY to any member of staff in a CRC employed by a Probation Trust on 31 May 2014"
From Appendix B:
"Calculation of Redundancy Payments for Staff
5. Qualifying Service – For the purposes of establishing entitlement to, and the calculation of, a redundancy payment, continuous service will include service with any public authority to which The Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government, etc) (Modification) Order 1999 applies.
6. Redundancy Pay – Redundancy payments will be based on the employee’s actual weekly pay and not the statutory rate.
Voluntary Redundancy for those under age 55
7. Redundancy compensation will be paid, subject to a maximum of 67.5 weeks’ pay and reckonable service of 15 complete years, as follows:
Four and a half weeks’ pay for each year of completed service
8. Any statutory redundancy payment is included in the compensation payable.
9. A ready reckoner is set out at Annex A to this Appendix.
Voluntary Redundancy for those aged 55 or over
• Redundancy payment will be paid, subject to a maximum of 67.5 weeks’ pay, in accordance with Paragraph 6 above
• Immediate payment of standard retirement pension and a standard retirement grant (i.e. pension lump sum).
10. Where existing local arrangements are more favourable in individual cases, they will supersede the provisions of this scheme."
The staff transfer agreement had the somewhat bizarre clause:
"No compulsory redundancy in either the NPS or CRCs for a period of seven months post share sale."
And this is why the lack of any formal challenge by napo/unison was a failure to act in the best interests of their members, i.e the issue around compulsory v. voluntary severance. I still don't understand why no-one took the unions to the Certification Officer as they allowed the CRC owners to pocket the vast majority of staff money allocated via a nationally agreed arrangement.
CRC owners, MoJ & the unions were all complicit in a grotesque fraud enacted against both the public purse & most probation staff alike. That is the legacy that shapes today's probation service.
https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/23641091.kate-hollern-prison-probation-needs-proper-funding/
DeleteOh, crikey, time for my favourite ever ministerial answer again:
DeleteAndrew Selous Assistant Whip (HM Treasury), The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice
"As part of the arrangements for the transfer of services from probation trusts to Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC’s), an enhanced Voluntary Redundancy Scheme was put in place, in line with the terms of the National Agreement on Staff Transfer and Protections agreed with the probation Trade Unions, and funded by monies from the Modernisation Fund to support a sustainable reduction in resource requirements. An initial wave of redundancies was made in advance of the letting of the contracts for the CRCs, and the remaining monies were transferred to the CRCs on a pro rata basis to be used for the same purpose. While we have no plans to reclaim any monies allocated to CRCs from the Modernisation Fund, we have robust contract management arrangements in place to ensure that they are used for the purposes for which they were provided. Contract management teams are in place in each Contract Package Area to oversee each CRC operation."
(Citation: HC Deb, 8 June 2015, cW)
"we have robust contract management arrangements in place to ensure that they are used for the purposes for which they were provided"
There's no evidence that any such control was exercised and many of those those ineffective, silent contract managers are probably very senior in the current probation organisation, e.g. Regional Directors or similar.
Russell Webster offered this about the NAO's view of contract management back in 2016:
Contract management
The NAO’s prime purpose is to be the watchdog for value for public money; so unsurprisingly they scrutinised contract management arrangemetns closely.
It reports that NOMS has “invested significantly in the contract management of CRCs. Currently, 151 full-time equivalent staff, mainly from operational assurance and commercial contract management teams, are scrutinising CRCs.”
I would replace the word “significantly” with “massively” — a whopping 2.1% of total contract value is spent on scrutiny. The NAO questions whether this level of scrutinty is sustainable since the MoJ needs to achieve savings in its administrative budget of 50% by and overall resource savings of 15% by 2019-20.
HMPPS in 2019, replying to Justice Committee recommendations:
"Transforming Rehabilitation showed that real partnership working between public and
private sectors can drive innovation."
- from Government Response to the Justice Committee’s Ninth Report of Session 2017- 19: Transforming Rehabilitation
Having manageable workloads has been a concern for the last thirty years and getting a rationale in place has been elusive. It boils down to terms and conditions which probation staff haven't protected very well. It's an easy organisation for governments to push around.
ReplyDeleteNapo and the other unions now have a tune to march to. Napo loves a campaign, meeting your MPs and so forth. I suspect this agitation will be generally ignored, once the illusion wears off that any positive changes are coming soon.
To 21:38 the Disclosure and Barring Service has recently recruited 3 SPOs from NE region, I think they took a minor pay cut to work as case officers but they will have only single figure case load and not be expected to do lots of unpaid overtime. I know there is agency work and a recent colleague worked for five years this way, mortgage and all, then got a housing managers job ( permanent). Another I know was recruited into specialist probation role senior to the one he left prior to agency. I do think it is a risk but people have to value themselves and it is a really affirming experience to resign and tell your truth. Just a warning, don’t expect an exit interview as they are definitely massaging the figures by not asking everyone ( “declined interview”).
ReplyDeleteIn full agreement with 06:00. NAPO loves a campaign but then shrivels and grovels when action is required. Without action it's like having a brilliant, cogent and detailed Risk Management Plan that doesn't get resourced or followed through with action in the real world.
ReplyDeleteAnd today's mantra is ... "Probation is dead; long live onehmpps" courtesy of @13:22 on 10 July 2023:
ReplyDelete"Old probation never again today's is just a monitoring platform low skill low rent low pay get used to it . The role is clerical simple and follows a set standard withing pre determined outcomes no need for thinking."
"There it is. Don't move till you're numb."
I think the.comment was trying to provoke a defence a response a fight. Something that stated what we do why we are needed and yet there it is 1751 no argument.
DeleteWe are a social model of how to manage offenders fairly in community and placing their needs in priority. Housing benefits work relationships protection of victims. These require linkages to social departments in ways that get support to forgotten or punished people. It's not a job of admin it's a skilled interpersonal role why we cannot function is because.of the workloads are crushing all our best .
flagged up courtesy of rob canton on twitter:
ReplyDeletehttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02645505231182822
"A necessary but painful journey: Experiences of unification in a probation service region
Introduction
In June 2020, it was reported that alongside the return to the public sector of all those subject to probation supervision (announced some twelve months earlier) the delivery of unpaid work and structured interventions would also return to the public sector (Grierson, 2020). For many probation observers the decision appeared to be a welcome reversal of the Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) reforms introduced in 2013, which had created a two-tier organisational structure and had subsequently been the focus of sustained critiques from a range of stakeholders. By 2019, criticisms voiced by HM Inspectorate of Probation (2019), the National Audit Office (2019) and the House of Commons Justice Select Committee (2018) suggested the policy was foundering. This was seen in the failure of Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) to reduce reoffending or meet other key targets; the injection of millions of pounds of extra public investment to prop up struggling CRCs; limited evidence of innovation; underinvestment in staff and poor morale across the workforce; and reputational damage including a loss of confidence in probation among sentencers. However, as Tidmarsh (2020) notes the TR reforms merely exacerbated many of the long-standing issues faced by probation and were the culmination a prolonged period of reform."
Interesting the article refers to "unification" & not "reunification". I railed hard against that at first but now, in context of the hundreds of lost colleagues & the vanity project that is 'onehmpps', it isn't 'reunification' is it? Probation has ceased to exist as it did pre-2014.
'onehmpps' - a gathering of the survivors of TR, scripted & directed by the pr bullshitters employed by a wholly dishonest government. That's not 're-unification'. That's a group of traumatisedvictims huddling together & wondering when the next crock of shit is going to be emptied over their heads.
From BBC. Not sure probation staff recognise this take:
ReplyDelete"UK wages have risen at a record annual pace fuelling fears that inflation will stay high for longer.
Regular pay grew by 7.3% in the March to May period from year earlier, official figures showed, equalling the highest growth rate last month.
However, despite the record increase, pay rises still lag behind inflation - the rate at which prices grow.
Today's figures show that pay rises were highest for those in better paid sectors such as finance"
They also offer advice to napo:
Tips for getting a pay rise
Choose the right time - Scheduling a talk in advance will allow you and your boss time to prepare, and means you're more likely to have a productive conversation
Bring evidence - have a list of what you've achieved at work and how you've developed yourself
Be confident - Know your worth and don't be shy about speaking up
Have a figure in mind - look at job adverts online to see the salaries for comparable jobs
Don't give up - keep talking to your employer if it doesn't work this time and if you can't get what you want be prepared to look elsewhere
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66156713
I’m not convinced that the tips for getting a pay rise apply to a certain Mr. Lawrence. He appears to be ahead of the game when it comes to looking after No.1
ReplyDeleteThe tip entitled ‘ know your worth,’ might inspire some introspection from him. I am sure that my valuation and his would be miles apart.
I have moved to a probation area after being in youth justice for a long time , you no what I write reports and I think what’s the point ? They won’t get the help I suggest it’s all bollox and a waste of time
ReplyDeleteCriminal behaviour costs the country around £60 billion every year, according to Home Office research.
ReplyDeleteIs it possible to prevent crime by understanding the root causes of offending behaviour?
Sally Tilt and Dr Kerensa Hocken are forensic psychologists who work in prisons.
Their role is to help people in prison to look at the harm they’ve caused to other people, understand why it happened and work out how to make changes to prevent further harm after they’ve been released.
In Behind the Crime, they take the time to understand the life of someone whose crimes have led to harm and, in some cases, imprisonment.
In this episode they talk to Sinem who was imprisoned for trafficking drugs into a prison while she was working as a prison officer.
This is the story of a young woman who made a catastrophic decision under the pressures of a terrifying domestic situation, and paid a heavy price. But when we dig back into her earliest experiences, we can start to see some of the reasons why she made that decision.
The job of the forensic psychologists is to dig deep into Sinem’s story, to understand the sequence of external influences that got Sinem to the point where she committed a crime.
Today, Sinem is a lecturer in criminology at the University of Westminster, and uses her own experiences to help young people understand the world of crime and justice.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_fourfm
"Is it possible to prevent crime by understanding the root causes of offending behaviour?... to help people in prison to look at the harm they’ve caused to other people, understand why it happened and work out how to make changes to prevent further harm after they’ve been released.... take the time to understand the life of someone whose crimes have led to harm and, in some cases, imprisonment."
DeleteSounds like someone describing what used to be a key part of the role of a Probation Officer.
Now? Probation Service practitioners fill in prescribed computerised forms, make lists of what they can't do & refer cases to the voluntary sector.
It seems to me that everybody is busy identifying root causes, risk levels, triggers etc etc.
DeleteThe problem is nobody is doing anything about the things their identifying as alluded to by annon @20.36.
A report released yesterday demonstrates very clearly how our CJ infrastructure is broken.
All agencies across the piste did their bit in identifying the problems, but non of them provided any solutions.
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/they-knew-dangerous-mum-man-27297993
'Getafix
But we don’t need another report about the criminal justice system. We know it’s broken.
DeleteIt’s like having another report to tell us the Tories are corrupt or the police are racist.
All the agencies cannot provide solutions as they haven’t got their own houses in order. Probation included.
A familiar - but no longer shocking - tale of equivocal woe from justin splinterpants:
ReplyDelete"...positive aspects of leadership and staffing.. Cumbria PDU had a visible and engaging leadership team... The leadership of the PDU was underpinned by effective relationships between the Head of PDU and the deputy... Senior leaders were visible and approachable..."
So surely the scores on the doors must be good?
"the overall quality of casework we inspected was insufficient. The quality of work to assess and manage risk of harm and to keep other people safe, particularly relating to children and those at risk of domestic abuse, were the areas we were most concerned about... Management oversight was sufficient in only 38 per cent of the cases... Only 54 per cent of people on probation we surveyed felt they had access to services relevant to their needs... There were only 53 accredited programme completions between April 2022 and March 2023... We assessed 18 reports; 11 were short-format reports, and seven were oral reports with a written record. The necessary enquiries were not taking place to inform sentencing... the quality of assessments in relation to keeping people safe being sufficient in only 25 per cent of cases... "
Result?
"We have rated Cumbria Probation Delivery Unit (PDU) as ‘Requires improvement’."
And don't fall over:
The **only** 'Good' rating was for the Staff.
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/07/Cumbria-PDU-report-v1.0.pdf
https://news.sky.com/story/millions-of-uk-public-sector-workers-including-teachers-and-doctors-to-get-pay-rises-12920175
ReplyDeleteMr Sunak met Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, to thrash out the decision this morning, which involves around 45% of the public sector, but does not include the majority of civil servants.
Police 7%
NHS - 6%
Junior doctors 6%
Prison officers 7%
Armed Forces - 5%
Teachers - 6.5%
Ministers are due to give updates on the NHS, police, teachers, the armed forces and the justice system today.
The highest award is expected to be handed to police - of around 7% - while doctors, dentists, prison staff, the armed forces and senior public officials are also up for a rise.
Noted, and probation staff in Napo meekly voted for approx 12% over 3 years in the face of inflation approaching double digits. The union offered no opinion on whether it was a good deal, but now wants to revisit it.
DeleteThanks 1633. It's even worse than I remember the deal averaged less than 10% over 3 years.
DeletePROBATION SERVICE 3-YEAR PAY OFFER – 2022/23/24
ReplyDeleteNegotiations over a 3 year pay offer for Probation Service staff have concluded with a full and final offer from the employer... • The cost of living rises in the offer, which average 3.2% a year, fall very short of the current rate of inflation which was 12.3% in July 2022 (retail prices index/RPI).
Excellent work. Meanwhile, in other news:
Police 7%
NHS - 6%
Junior doctors 6%
Prison officers 7%
Armed Forces - 5%
Teachers - 6.5%
Pay rise?
ReplyDeleteHow? Why? Y'all voted for 3.2% a year, a deal achieved by the excellent union leaders... nearly as excellent as the senior probation leaders with their, on average, 30-something per cent success rates.
Deleteromeo & co will be raking in their bonuses for keeping probation pay down to 3.2% until 2024. Wonder if lawrence gets a slice by way of a thank you?
At least it'll make paying 7% to prison staff a bit more manageable. Hahahahahahahahaha.
Nope, screwed over again!
DeleteNot for probation staff
ReplyDeleteWeak and ineffectual won’t strike have no backbone and miserable ! You can’t blame a union when it’s members won’t act
See above all the above workers stood up for themselves
I blame the union and Napo they did not lead recommend or understand. Instead they wanted us to support a deflated negative deal and why because Napo has no finances for any sustained campaign it's broken spinless leadership. They work from home do nothing for the pay and have post box for an office members are conned.
DeleteOne Hmpps?
ReplyDeleteIt’s ok folks we are saved as we are one HMPPS remember! Oh no…prison is much more important than probation when it comes to pay and they are worth more reward in the governments eyes but what’s this, has the prison union rejected that offer? Well yes they have and good for them. Remember when you read One HMPPS it is lies and don’t fall for it. One HMPPS ? Not a chance!
ReplyDeleteIf Prison officers are to get 7% then so should Probation Officers get 7%.
ReplyDeleteIf not then get us out of HMPPS and OneHMPPS!
Napo can start with getting us the 7% prison officers are now getting.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.napo.org.uk/news/probation-trade-unions-set-submit-additional-pay-claim-inflation-shows-no-sign-abating
It will not achieve anything. Napo supported the current deal agreed for 3 years any new attempts to renegotiate will fail. Any hope of a new deal is as stupid as Napo trying to pretend it is working for members. They have no problem awarding hmps 7% and dropping probation out of the hmpps so forget it.
DeleteThe politics of envy... probation staff overwhelmingly voted to accept the 3 x 3.2% deal, they refused to take action, they took the first offer available:
ReplyDeleteNapo 66% accept / 34% % reject
UNISON 64% accept / 36% % reject
GMB SCOOP 94% accept / 6% reject
see also:
https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/102710/05-10-2022/probation-workers-accept-real-terms-pay-cut-following-absence-of-union-lead/
And most of you probably missed/never knew about this opportunity, which had a closing deadline is 2359hrs on 26 June 2023.
"One HMPPS
Voluntary early Departure scheme
The scheme has been launched for colleagues who currently work in HQ. A number of members have raised question about their own circumstances. My advice to date has been that if you are interested in leaving the organisation under this scheme then you must put in an expression of interest. There will be a sift based on eligibility which may later preclude your departure, but unless you do express an interest you will not progress to the next stage. An expression of interest is not a binding commitment to leave the organisation and should not impact on your future career should you decide not to leave."
Shafted? Well & truly at every twist & turn.
Think that scheme was withdrawn some weeks ago
ReplyDeleteYep, as stated: "closing deadline is 2359hrs on 26 June 2023."
DeleteWhat did Selous say about the last voluntary "early departure" scheme in 2015?
"An initial wave of redundancies was made in advance of the letting of the contracts for the CRCs"
Basically, those who worked in 'HQ'; many of whom were re-employed by NPS or the CRCs (after having their pockets filled with the full EVR entitlement), while others went to NOMS.