JCP "will be short staffed over the summer"

GotToChange

Due to lower staffing levels over the summer, signing-on will be changing for those on the Work Programme....
....they are now required to attend at some point during two blocks of time, be seen at the "front desk", sign and leave (there may be a queue).

The reason for the change - and the lower staff levels - is due to a large number of the JCP staff actually being term-time only workers and they will be taking leave for the school summer holidays.

Does anyone else think that this is somehow wrong?

ilikewatch

GotToChange wrote: »

Does anyone else think that this is somehow wrong?

What, wrong that DWP are a family friendly employer?, or wrong that claimants on the WP will have their signing on fast tracked as a contingency measure?

Personally I think that DWP should be applauded for having family friendly HR policies that allow people with families to work whereas otherwise they might be unable to.

Claimants on the WP would already be having their jobsearch monitored by their WP provider so it seems sensible to reduce the impact of their signing on when JCP resources are limited.

Incidentally, this will only be a local issue - there are many JCP offices where few if any staff work term-time only.

GotToChange

I agree with the fast-tracking (if that is what will actually happen) as it does indeed eliminate (some) duplication.

The "front desk" is already the weakest link in the JCP experience as the staff posted there seem to be a position where they are expected to answer every query they are faced with and yet still *manually take the book of the claimant to the desk of the relevant signing desk. They often already have queues form withouat any additional work they may now be required to do.

As for "family friendly" call me cynical but this seems to take it to the extreme level... (flexible hours, time off for illness etc, yes - but an entire season of disruption... Really?). Let alone, how this impacts on the remaining staff - are they able to take their holidays, be ill etc etc during this time...

Please fill me in on other - other than schools/other education establishments - industries in which term-time working is offered/accepted and acceptable.


*In today's connected world this could easily be fixed by linking networked terminals to the Advisors to enter arrival and save the staff leaving the front desk unattended (which happens a lot).

PurplePow

When I worked at DWP it was quite surprising the amount of workers who were on term time contracts despite their 'children' now being adults at University, and they had no intention of leaving such a contract. It meant that people who had young children were refused if they requested a term time contract.

ilikewatch

GotToChange wrote: »

Please fill me in on other - other than schools/other education establishments - industries in which term-time working is offered/accepted and acceptable.

Maybe others will chip in with some examples, but I personally know (or know of) 5 people who work term time only, - their employers are: Lincolnshire Police, Barclays Bank, Anglian Water, Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse.

Although I don't actually know anyone who works for them, I'm aware that the NHS (The biggest employer in the UK, and 5th biggest in the world) offer term-time only contracts, and I know that when I worked for McDonalds (4th biggest employer in the world) as a student, they also promoted term-time only shift patterns.

GotToChange

ilikewatch wrote: »

Maybe others will chip in with some examples, but I personally know (or know of) 5 people who work term time only, - their employers are: Lincolnshire Police, Barclays Bank, Anglian Water, Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse.

Although I don't actually know anyone who works for them, I'm aware that the NHS (The biggest employer in the UK, and 5th biggest in the world) offer term-time only contracts, and I know that when I worked for McDonalds (4th biggest employer in the world) as a student, they also promoted term-time only shift patterns.

Apart from the politically correct aspect - why?

I simply cannot see why this is necessary or helpful to a business....

ilikewatch

GotToChange wrote: »

Apart from the politically correct aspect - why?

I simply cannot see why this is necessary or helpful to a business....

When it comes to the Public Sector, I should imagine that it comes down to a mixture of:
Political correctness and "trying to set a good example"
Trying to retain skilled staff who start a family during their career
Strong unions who have fought for these rights

In the private sector I would imagine that in addition to the political correctness and PR advantages of being family friendly, in many sectors there may be less need for resources during holiday periods when large amounts of people are away, coupled with other factors, such as students returning home for the holidays being happy to work in lower skilled jobs for less money than long serving members of staff who would rather have the time off.

I would also imagine that employee sick leave drops noticeably when term-time only shift patterns are offered...

mynameistallulah

GotToChange wrote: »

Apart from the politically correct aspect - why?

I simply cannot see why this is necessary or helpful to a business....

Because holiday childcare is massively lacking, and the alternative is a high level of sick/ parental leave, or parents claiming long term benefits due to a lack of suitable work.

Damned if they do and damned if they don't!

liney

GotToChange wrote: »

Apart from the politically correct aspect - why?

I simply cannot see why this is necessary or helpful to a business....

I know some supermarkets offer these contracts, then cover with students during the summer as required. It may also result in overall salary costs being reduced as staffing levels may not actually need to be at 100% all year round, and a happy workforce who work the hours they can.

Are you upset that jobseekers may have to wait in line for a few minutes, or that some people work 38 weeks per year?

tsimehC

Well I worked in the JCP throughout a summer, some staff went on leave but there were no shortages plus there's been a large recruitment recently so I seriously doubt they'll be short-staffed. If anything, whenever I go to the JCP, 4 out of 10 seem to be just doing ad-hoc duties.

GotToChange

liney wrote: »

I know some supermarkets offer these contracts, then cover with students during the summer as required. It may also result in overall salary costs being reduced as staffing levels may not actually need to be at 100% all year round, and a happy workforce who work the hours they can.

Are you upset that jobseekers may have to wait in line for a few minutes, or that some people work 38 weeks per year?

[Not upset - puzzled; the staff member of the JCP was upset/cross] It is not really about "some people working 38 weeks per year" , but that there is a huge staff reduction for a signficiant length of time.

As for the "standing in line" - well, I thought those days ended with The Full Monty - but the point I was thinking of in this instance was that the glaring inefficiency at the front desk without the additional work for them is only going to get worse. Jobseekers are people too and come from broad section of society; this is likely to lead to overworked JCP staff being even ruder than they already (sometimes) are. The lowest on the totem pole will just get pushed around - "or else"...

I have worked in the charity sector and the global corporate world and in neither of these places would a swathe of the workforce being on leave at one time have been acceptable or good for business or overall employee morale - and these places were not offering a "service" to (a segment of) the general populace.