SDA rostering update

Shift Disturbance Allowance (SDA) rostering update

This briefing details the feedback received on the personal and operational impact of not rostering staff in receipt of Shift Disturbance Allowance on premium days, and detailing what PCS will be looking to do going forwards.

Background

Following rostering changes announced on 17 and 24 April 2020, brought in as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first group of operational staff to experience financial detriment were those in receipt of Shift Disturbance Allowance (SDA). To quote the communications ‘where there is no operational requirement to deploy SDA staff on weekend or public holidays they will revert to Monday-Friday working.’

A Brief Update From Around The Country

Based upon feedback from both reps and members the following is a brief headline view of the impact of rostering changes around the country.

• Immigration Enforcement

Despite being co-authors of the joint announcements in April, for front ine operational IE the rostering of SDA staff on Monday to Friday shifts is Business As Usual and has been in place now for several years. Sadly, the financial impact of this has already been borne by those in receipt of SDA and is now an expected loss. There are however some non-front-line units where there are still pockets of staff on SDA, and where the impact of these measures will have been felt.

• Gatwick Airport

There are still a number of staff remaining on SDA here. Gatwick managers have pledged to roster SDA colleagues for premium shifts prior to calling in Seasonal Workforce (SWF) for any out of hours working, and industrial relations with local managers are positive enough that such assertions are accepted. Industrial relations with local managers are such that the local Trade Union Side trust that they will roster SDA staff if they are able to do so. Nevertheless no SDA staff have been rostered for any premium shifts at Gatwick Airport since April.

• Stansted Airport

Very few officers remained on the old terms and conditions (the number is in single figures). Management at Stansted were therefore able to restrict weekend working for any remaining SDA staff from a very early stage, with the expected financial impact on the staff.

• Luton Airport

By contrast at Luton there are more staff remaining on SDA, where most of those that remain fall into one protected characteristic or another. There was sufficient local discontent at the cut in premium day working that Luton staff attempted to take local action, which subsequently failed. In reaction local managers stated that the situation would be looked at again when things picked up and assured staff that SDA staff would be considered before they consider bringing the Seasonal Work-Force back in.

• Manchester Airport

75% of staff on SDA are female, and several are in single income households or sole owner occupiers. Many have concerns about pension consolidation as SDA premium payments have been lost from being prevented from attending on weekends. Local managers have made attempts to breach guidelines for the rostering of SDA staff. They have also told staff that they may use SWF and Contingency staff to cover weekends. Although the local planning team advise that there is not enough staffing over the weekend (which indicates that there is an operational need) SDA staff are still not being rostered premium days. Now that all three Manchester terminals are being opened next week alongside the private terminal this lack of staffing and consequent operational need will only become more stark.

• Edinburgh & Glasgow Airports

Glasgow has far more staff remaining on SDA than Edinburgh. Local managers have threatened to use Seasonal Workforce at the weekends, which again suggests an ‘operational need’. As a result levels of discontent are high amongst SDA staff. However SDA staff have still not been rostered any premium days.

• City Airport

At City Airport, there are very few members still on legacy terms, and those still on SDA have been prohibited from working premium shifts for a while now. Local management however are viewed as being reasonable and pragmatic and should there be an operational need they have stated that legacy condition staff can and will be deployed to premium shifts.

• Heathrow Airport

The location with the largest single number of staff still on SDA, a figure in the several hundreds, that amounts to more than 50% of all those still remaining on Legacy IS allowances. Previously due to the numbers involved local managers have been unable to prevent premium day working, so the changes since April have come as a huge blow to staff. The announcement that they would bring in SWF staff over the weekends from 20/21 June produced such an overwhelming reaction from staff of all terms and conditions that local managers withdrew that plan, only to bring Contingency staff down at high cost to stay in hotels overnight and assist on the PCP. Of note is that even with the assistance of the Contingency staff there were still huge queues, and indeed there has been a continuing problem of a lack of staffing over subsequent weekends. This has had an impact on those staff on duty over the weekend, but also on the organisation’s ability to meet its statutory targets – all of which might suggest that there was an operational need to roster local staff on premium days. Yet as with most areas, since the announcements of April 2020, and the reductions in operational demands on the business, no premium days have been rostered to anyone on SDA. PCS has had reports from several staff now extremely concerned at the financial impact, and additional childcare demands these changes have placed upon them.

What PCS is doing

• PCS has requested an equality breakdown of the current staff remaining on legacy allowances. Following this PCS will review where we stand.
• PCS is collating accounts from members financially affected by these changes with a view to drawing this to the attention of senior managers. PCS welcomes any accounts from members that can support this.
• As previously detailed in MB/027/20, if any staff in receipt of SDA have mortgage/loan letters from the 1990s and early 2000s detailing how much money they can expect to earn per month from premium day working, and the frequency that they can be expected to work premium days every month then please contact PCS urgently, as this is likely to be one of the ways that members can challenge current rostering guidelines.
• PCS will write to the Home Office to request clarification of what exactly they view as ‘operational requirements. If local staffing levels are insufficient to cover existing demands, if queues are long and statutory targets are in danger of being breached at the weekend, and if there is such a need for extra staff that local managers are considering (let alone actually bringing in) SWF or Contingency staff, then PCS believes that this indicates that there is a clear ‘operational requirement’ to roster local staff (including those in receipt of SDA) on premium days.
• Following all the above we will consider our options going forwards.

Membership Input

If members can assist with any of the points above, in terms of personal information on the impact of the rostering changes, evidence of a contractual requirement to roster premium days, or evidence of ‘operational requirements’ apparently being ignored and staff being brought in from elsewhere to cover for a lack of front line staffing, then please contact PCS with those details.

Pete Wright (Vice President), Stephen Taylor (Assistant Group Secretary)