16 April 2004
Lawyers for the Public and Commercial Services union have identified a test-case individual who will front their legal challenge to the Department for Work and Pensions' controversial pay deal.
Public Finance understands that the person works at a DWP agency in Leeds. Any legal challenge must come from an employee who is subject to the department's new pay structure.
The union this week revealed it has written to the DWP, warning senior officials to 'immediately cease to use' the performance-related pay system that will be imposed on staff from next month – or face a High Court challenge.
PF has obtained a copy of the letter, sent to Kevin White, the DWP's head of human resources, outlining objections to a controversial quota system for PRP bonuses and 'relative assessment' procedures that form part of the new performance and development system (PDS).
DWP permanent secretary Sir Richard Mottram announced that the PDS, and an improved basic pay deal, will be imposed on staff following the union's refusal to agree it. PCS leaders claim it is unfair and will help employers cut costs by restricting bonuses.
The letter, sent on April 7, claims the DWP are attempting to 'unilaterally alter the terms and conditions of DWP staff'. PCS lawyers challenged the use of the quota system to determine how many people receive specific bonuses, because it could block genuine performance-linked rewards.
The document warns the DWP that its own appraisal system, agreed with former Benefits Agency staff, prohibits restricting the opportunity to 'achieve whatever rating is appropriate to [staff] performance'.
Lawyers have given the DWP management until April 15 to respond. But the DWP said it was confident that its new pay deal is legally watertight. A spokeswoman said: 'Like any good employer, we always take legal advice before implementing any new HR policy. Throughout the introduction of the PDS we have taken such advice.
'We are entirely satisfied that the steps we are now taking are consistent with our obligations under employment law.'
Meanwhile, the PCS claimed that up to 100,000 staff from the DWP, Prison Service and Office for National Statistics participated in this week's strikes on April 13 and 14.
But union sources admitted that many staff chose to cross picket lines because the 48-hour strike meant low-paid staff would lose around £90 if they did not work.
Civil servants slammed for snooping at tax records
Hundreds of civil servants were disciplined for 'Whitehall snooping' last year – including more than 140 cases where employees gained unauthorised access to Inland Revenue tax records containing sensitive data.
Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman Steve Webb claimed the new figures, released on April 7, were 'shocking' proof that security failures across Whitehall departments are rife.
In all, 322 civil servants at the Inland Revenue were disciplined during 2003/04 for breaking tight rules on the use of departmental data, the Internet and e-mail.
Four cases of 'unauthorised disclosure' of records were uncovered, while 146 employees were found to have gained unauthorised access.
But cases of possible snooping were not confined to the Revenue. The Department for Work and Pensions disciplined 31 individuals last year and it has taken action against more than 300 since 1998.
Many had 'manipulated' computer records, according to official sources.
Another department with a poor record on data protection is the Northern Ireland Office, which has investigated almost 900 cases in the past seven years.
l Capita, one of the public sector's largest outsourcing specialists, has won the contract to manage the Department for Work and Pensions' records storage system.
Whitehall unions had tried to prevent the deal, claiming it would be likely to lead to job cuts.
Shake-up at ODPM aims for more efficiency
The reorganisation at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will enable it to work with other Whitehall ministries to achieve the government's key objectives, according to permanent secretary Mavis McDonald.
The ODPM's housing and planning directorate has been dissolved and its responsibilities absorbed into the Sustainable Communities and Tackling Disadvantage Groups.
A regional group has also been established to reflect its growing importance in policy development.
The ODPM has also initiated a system where board members have regular contact with their counterparts in other ministries to foster cross-cutting projects.
McDonald said the changes, which came into effect on April 1, would ensure that the department was able to achieve its Spending Review targets.
The shake-up would also help the ODPM to identify areas where its activities fit in with the government's broader agenda, she said. 'We're trying to get a more integrated way of thinking about the role of local government in relation to these priorities.'
PFapr2004
