Under the overarching Probation Service JNC the employer and unions have formed an Unpaid Work Sub- Committee. This has been designed to help address the significant challenges being faced by our members who are employed in supervising Unpaid Work (UPW).
The Head of unpaid work will chair these meetings, and will be supported initially by Unpaid Work leads, while we establish who else may usefully contribute to this committee .
The proposed terms of reference for the subcommittee will ensure that the issues of staffing, safe workloads and health and safety considerations that can also be escalated centrally where necessary are addressed. We will be seeking to raise issues and challenges around UPW supervision following attempts to address them at local or regional level.
The inaugural meeting gave Napo representatives the opportunity to achieve a greater understanding of how we can build a constructive working relationship with the employer on a range of issues including:
- Pay* (those specific to UPW members for escalation to National Pay and Reward JNC )
- Training
- Staffing and recruitment
- Safety measures including Lone working
- Monitoring of SPHERA recorded incidents
These will understandably bring challenges, but we hope that the creation of this forum will result in agreement through discussion and also provide the opportunity for Trade Unions to have a greater insight into the issues being faced by our members in this important workstream.
Please contact Tony Perkins National Officer (aperkins@napo.org.uk) and Tania Bassett National Official (tbassett@napo.org.uk).
10 responses
Hi; Tony/Tina,
I am a retired life time member of NAPO. I worked initially as Supevisor in Southampton and then in the office at Lymington and Hythe Probation offices, Hampshire. I retired in 2011 having also worked on our local Union Committee.
I can only say how valuable I found both for the offenders and the community.
Yes, there can be problems, but strict enforcement of the rules and eventually the Courts if necessary can resolve problems.
My issue is the total reluctance to engage with supervisors when the subject of WTR breaks comes up. We then suddenly become ‘security guards’ and an exempt role when ‘security and surviellence is not mentioned in any paperwork, contracts, job descriptions, job adverts. Security only rears it’s ugly head when breaks are mentioned.
WTR 12 makes a 20 minute uninterupted break the legal minimum. The only exemptions to this is WTR 21b ‘Security and survellence’ which is the ‘go to’ whenever HMPPS are challenged about it.
This has been mentioned to Napo and Unison over the years. What have either done to make them comply with the law?…………..nothing
I do think that this committee should focus on rest breaks for supervisors as the current setup is clearly a breach of working time regulations. To clarify I am not a security guard, never have been, never will be. For the Probation service to use this example as a ‘ get out clause ‘ is disgraceful & to treat hard-working members of staff this way is as mentioned, disgraceful.
I have worked in UPW for nearly 22yrs for Northumbria then merged with Durham/Tees, I was a supervisor for 15 of them, currently still in UPW but in office now and I can honestly say since we got moved back over from CRC UPW has been an absolute laughing stock and an embarrassment to the rest of our colleagues and I would always defend it but there is no way I can anymore,now they are mentioning forums again this is just lip service as we have been here before and as I am speaking from experience I can honestly say the UPW supervisor role is the most difficult job going but they get absolutely no recognition for their work,they seemed to get moved around all over the place because the staffing situation so no stability for staff or pop and again embarrassing,plus closing days at a whim, and the amount of stand downs losing hours because of this is a joke when I speak with supervision they are so fed up at the way they get treat not just the pop but their managers and they are scared of the repercussions if they say anything which to me is bullying and abuse of power but nothing seems to get done and again I am speaking from experience on that point so in my humble opinion they should start to look for a strong management team with the correct experience needed for UPW and not just a manger from elsewhere.
Well said.
I think this committee firstly needs to find out why we get enhanced rate on Saturday and Sunday when we work or are on sick but not if we put a days leave in !!! This is against the law , you can not be paid less for a shift if you put leave in .
Hi Ian, I’ll pass this on to our HQ leads
Thank you it’s been going on since last march
Any updates?
Hello. Has there been any sort of update regarding the UPW survey results. Should there not be more communication from the Unions to members regarding what is actually going on? To clarify, we are working without rest breaks, having our pay docked when we take leave & travelling around in vans which causes a severe health and safety issue, as the vast amount are severely overloaded. Not to mention staff shortages and the excessive amount of offenders which are still being allocated to single crewed staff. Has anyone ( management) ever thought about the fire risk this poses, by placing 30 – 40 offenders to attend on one day poses serious risk. We do not read them any sort of fire risk procedure and their is definitely no headcount or operational procedures should a fire break out with 40 plus people on site. Absolute madness and I sincerely hope that this isn’t more lip service.