European Casework Update

PCS Home Office Merseyside Branch reps meet with European Casework management

Branch reps met with Euro senior management on 31 March. Members should continue to raise issues in the first instance through their line management chain or to senior management through slido prior to the monthly all staff call and email the branch if issues are not resolved.

The meeting was relatively short. Management offered a general update including levels of work across the different workstreams and PCS informed that a number of HMRC-managed staff (Surge Team) would be joining Euro casework on a temporary basis from mid-April due to the high intake of EUSS settlement applications in order to stay on target for the conclusion of that work for which the end date for submission of applications is 30 June 2021. The last time that the branch is aware of the surge team being deployed locally was in Intel in 2018.

PCS asked what plans were being made for more staff to return to the office and if, longer term, whether future working patterns were under consideration for work to be divided between home and the workplace. Management confirmed there are currently no plans to bring more staff back to the office as the official guidance has not changed but agreed that the branch will be made fully aware of any plans for a return to the office once the guidance changes so that PCS can have input into those plans. The branch will raise any health and safety concerns should any new guidance requires clarification and will escalate the issues if necessary. Members will asked for input into these talks at the relevant time through our branch website.

The next meeting with Euro management is scheduled for 28 April. Details will be published on the branch website for submissions from members for the agenda for that meeting.