DWP has been ‘far too slow’ to provide its staff with the kit needed to work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic

Public and Commercial Services Union says that staff whose only reason for not working from home is the lack of available kit or software should be sent home on paid special leave

The DWP has been 'far too slow' to provide its staff with the kit needed to work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union has said.

Highlighting that there has been a sharp increase in infections amongst DWP workers, and that DWP workplaces have frequently had to close fully or partially because of Covid-19, the PCS, says that while around 90 per cent of civil servants have been working from home with kit provided by their employer, this has not been the case for DWP staff.

While acknowledging the situation is now being addressed, the PCS says that problems persist -

'After months of negotiations, DWP have now confirmed their intent to maximise the number of people working from home by providing enough kit. PCS has been demanding this since last March. At last, DWP have agreed. The latest figures they have given to the union, say there is enough kit to allow 80 per cent of all staff to work from home, including all Work Coaches. PCS are aware the actual number of staff working from home is nowhere near that figure, and there continues to be delays in the distribution of the kit and software required. At a meeting on 12 January DWP stated “The majority of staff are now working from home”. We have yet to see any figures that substantiate this, and it is clear from the anecdotal evidence we have from members across the Department, that more staff are still attending the workplace than is safe - in the view of PCS - and the overall numbers still having to attend the office remains high.'

While the DWP has said that it intends to increase the distribution of kit to around 3,500 per week to deliver on its commitment, the PCS says that delays in obtaining the IT or the necessary software continue to be a blockage to staff being able to vacate the office immediately. As a result, the PCS says -

'... we have demanded that staff, whose only reason for not working from home right now is the lack of available kit or software, should be sent home on paid Special Leave until they have the kit delivered.'

In addition, the PCS reports that -

• while at the start of the pandemic it sought to identify the critical roles that had to be carried out physically in the workplace, unlike other government departments the DWP declared that all its staff were key workers and set about moving staff from different business strands to deal with the new claims that were being made as a result of the economic impact of Covid-19; and
• it has flagged up the importance of rolling across any positive agreements it reaches to its members who work in DWP premises but who are not employed by the department, including the need to ensure that proper sick pay and self-isolating procedures are in place for G4S security guards, facilities contract staff and Brook Street agency workers.

For more information, see Covid National Lockdown – PCS welcomes the DWP response but more is needed from pcs.org.uk

NB - the PCS is also calling for an immediate review of safety arrangements across HM Courts and Tribunals Service amid increasing concerns that courts are unsafe as the number of Covid-19 cases rises sharply.