Update on HMPO office openings

Temporary halt to office openings

PCS has pressed hard for the Home Office and HMPO to ensure staff are kept safe at home during the coronavirus pandemic. Our pressure has begun to have an effect as HMPO have called a temporary halt to bringing staff back into offices.

PCS has listened to the concern from our members across HMPO and the wider Home Office. You have told us that you understand and support the department in delivering essential services at this time of national crisis. But you have also told us that you find it extremely difficult to understand why, when we are seeing the highest fatality rate in Europe, your employer considers this a time to take wholly unnecessary risks with your health and wellbeing.

After meeting with the Cabinet Office on Thursday we received a response on Saturday morning. PCS then wrote to the permanent secretary calling for an immediate halt to bringing HMPO staff back into work.

On Saturday evening the Home Office responded to say:

"The intention for Tuesday 14 April was to re-open the Belfast and Newport offices and to increase the numbers of staff in the office at the five other sites which had remained open with skeleton staffing. HMPO has now decided to defer this action for a short period to enable further discussions to take place with PCS and staff so as to ensure that all concerns about safety measures, whether that be for the office environment or for travel into the office, have been aired, responded to and addressed where necessary."

We've asked for the Home Office to provide us with the specific numbers of people they expect back in each of the main eight Passport Office sites next week on the back of this change. PCS expect HMPO, Sopra Steria and agency numbers to be the absolute minimum necessary to deal with only critical work i.e. genuinely urgent and compassionate cases. Not routine passports, marriage certificates etc.

This is a welcome move. But be in no doubt this would not have come about had it not been for the pressure from the union. PCS put members’ health, safety and wellbeing as our absolute priority. We hope these further talks demonstrate HMPO's commitment to members’ safety as their number one priority too, and limit the numbers of staff expected in offices to an absolute bare minimum going forward.

Thank you to all members who've already signed our petition If you haven't signed yet, please do so now and share with colleagues for them to sign too.

This temporary pause demonstrates the benefits of being in the union. Share this message with any of your colleagues not already in the union and ask them to join today.

Let's come together to make HMPO a great place to work - by not forcing hundreds of staff into offices unnecessarily that risks their health!

Letter's to the permanent secretary and the Home Office response in full will be on the PCS Home Office group web pages shortly. Please check this regularly for all the latest updates and breaking news.

Mike Jones (Group Secretary, PCS Home Office Group)

Any queries about this PCS Home Office Group Members' Briefing can be sent to the author here.