The following have been prepared by the Branch Officers and answer the majority of questions that come into the Branch e-mail.

Please refer to the details below as a first option:

Rotation 18

Question

I have been told that there are a specific number of lates that I have to put on my preferences and a number of these have to be a Friday.

Is this correct?

It always seems to be the case that the bullying over the ED rotation starts just after the staff survey closes.

Answer

Please see the details below from the employer’s Intranet:

Working Hours and Working Patterns Advice | DWP Intranet

4. Isn’t there a requirement for everyone to do a minimum number of evening shifts per week and one in four Saturdays?

No. The days and hours that each team member works will be agreed through cooperation and negotiation across the team. Differences in working patterns between employees will be okay providing that, at team level, the right number of employees are at work to deliver a consistently good service and meet business demand.

If you feel that you are being bullied, we strongly recommend that you lodge a harassment and bullying complaint.

Rotation 18 – Personal circumstances

Question

My manager has indicated that my personal circumstances cannot be taken into account when looking at my working pattern and preferences for rotation 18.

They say that I have accepted the money and therefore just need to do what I am told to put down on the sheets regardless of my commitments.

Is this correct?

Answer

No.

How to: Manage Working Patterns | DWP Intranet

Personal circumstances

16. In managing regular working patterns agreed under the arrangements in paragraphs 4 to14, managers will be fully aware of and comply with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 in respect of employees with protected characteristics (e.g. disability, religion/beliefs, age, pregnancy/maternity).

17. Whether or not they are covered by the Equality Act 2010, for various reasons some employees may not be in a position to work certain hours or days in the six months of their team’s baseline staffing plan or subsequently. This might include, but not be restricted to, some disabled colleagues and some colleagues with current and primary caring responsibility for pre-teenage children, the infirm elderly or a disabled person who cannot make alternative arrangements.

18. In cases where cover at the requested time cannot be provided, managers must work constructively with colleagues to find alternative arrangements which enable the individual to combine meeting their personal or caring responsibilities with making a contribution to the team requirements. Everyone must demonstrate flexibility; therefore this will be on the basis of consultation and might involve swaps between colleagues, for example someone might work more Saturdays if post 17:00 on weekdays is currently a problem, or agree to provide early cover that another team member might find difficult. Such arrangements will be reviewed every six months, when teams refresh their baseline plans. A ‘light touch’ review is appropriate where an individual’s circumstances have not changed and there is no business need to consider alternative solutions.

19. Discussions between colleagues to match the overall team resource to business demand must never be oppressive or coercive. On the contrary – they should build confidence that personal issues will be sensitively considered. Where an employee genuinely cannot make the required contribution after all alternatives have been fully explored and, where possible, tried, that should normally be accommodated but kept under ongoing review. For example:

(a) Primary carers – for most people, caring responsibilities are shared with family members or others, and such commitments can be adjusted to accommodate working requirements if sufficient notice is given and times of attending work do not constantly vary. Where this is unavoidably not the case, the team’s staffing plan should be flexible enough to accommodate the employee’s requirements. Where cases involve child care needs, which change as children grow, employees and managers must keep the situation under review, keeping in mind DWP’s commitment to use part-year working, in particular, to support employees who are current and primary carers of pre-teenage children, the infirm elderly or disabled people.

(b) Disabled – managers must implement reasonable adjustments to assist disabled colleagues. In certain circumstances these can include short- or long-term reasonable adjustments relating to times, hours or days of work in the team staffing plan. The Occupational Health Service will provide advice on the relevance and management of reasonable adjustments relating to working hours and patterns.

(c) Religion – managers must respect employees’ religious and personal beliefs. Some employees, for example, might not be able to work on certain days because they are mandatory day of religious observance. Advice can be sought from HR Casework.

More advice about supporting people who want to work for longer into their lives and require flexibility can be found on the Fuller Working Lives page.

Equality Act and Rotation 18

Question

I have concerned that my line manager isn’t taking into account my protected characteristic when looking at preferences for rotation 18. I use the word preferences loosely as we are told what we have to put down on our preferences as a minimum.

Can I use whistleblowing to raise my concerns.

Answer

Yes, failure to comply with a legal obligation (Equality Act 2010) is an issue where people can use whistleblowing.

The details below set out the grounds and methodology:

Whistleblowing and Raising a Concern Procedures | DWP Intranet

2.2 Employees can also use this policy to blow the whistle on alleged wrongdoing potentially covered by the UK’s whistleblowing legislation. The specific and more limited issues potentially covered by the UK’s whistleblowing legislation (Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 – PIDA) are:

…………………………………………………..

• That a person has failed, is failing or is likely to fail to comply with any legal obligation to which they are subject

……………………………………………………

3.7 The best way to raise a concern is to do so openly as this makes it easier for the department to investigate and provide feedback. If an employee feels unable to raise their concern with their line manager or with a Nominated Officer, the concern can be raised with Government Internal Audit Agency Counter Fraud & Investigation team. This can be done by sending an email to INTERNALINVESTIGATIONS.TEAM@DWP.GOV.UK(link sends e-mail) or to GIAAReferralTeam@giaa.gov.uk(link sends e-mail).  
 
Should an employee wish to report confidentially then they can telephone the confidential Whistleblowers’ Hotline on 0800 917 4881. Employees can remain anonymous when contacting Government Internal Audit Agency Counter Fraud & Investigation team. See Confidentiality below.

Bullying and Rotation 18

Question

I feel that I have been bullied when we moved to Fylde View, then again when we went to 60% hybrid and now that we are at Rotation 18 times gathering stage my management once again have started their bullying tactics.

Is there anyone I can speak to in HR about what is going on?

Answer

Yes, please see the details below:

Grievance and Issue Resolution Procedure | DWP Intranet

HR Investigation Service (HRIS) Support

Speak up safely telephone line

During core hours (10am to 3 pm) managers and ALL employees are able to talk (anonymously if needed) to a member of the HRIS support team for verbal advice, guidance or support around Bullying/Harassment, sexual harassment/Discrimination. The telephone number is 0300 086 6495.

If the line is busy you can contact us via our Contact Form(link is external). If you provide us with a telephone number and a preferred time we will endeavour to call you back at that time. Your call will be treated in confidence.