The PCS has now mounted a staffing campaign as:
- All areas of the DWP are understaffed by at least 10%
- The jobcentre network is feeling the pain of the staffing crisis most and by the DWP’s own admission is at least 20% understaffed
- This has resulted in members being overworked and very stressed
- Its members are unable to offer the service required to claimants.
Although the DWP is recruiting new staff they are falling well short of their target of 5,000 per quarter and have only managed to increase staffing by a little over 1,000 since March 2023.
The PCs warning follows it publishing a “devastating” dossier of evidence at the end of last year, detailing how the DWP is a failing organisation in a “state of crisis,” facing a “near collapse” of its benefits systems, and is deliberately neglecting the most marginalised in society.
The dossier pointed to serious understaffing across the DWP, a failure to recruit and retain staff, poor working conditions, and low pay.
Among witness evidence it records from 50 jobcentre staff include the following statements:
“Low pay means we’re struggling to recruit and to deal with the rising amount of work. So morale is very low and stress is high. It’s broken and needs fixing.”
“I work front of house for Jobcentre Plus. There was eight in my team and now there are four – only three full–time. Work coaches have either left or moved to other departments. I am currently off sick with stress and depression.”
“I have been working on a sanctions team. Many of the staff there are over–worked with management pressuring them to apply sanctions even to vulnerable customers. The staff themselves work longer hours and work through breaks and lunches. They log fewer hours in their time sheets to avoid performance management.”
“There’s unbelievable pressure on staff at present, leading to stress and inevitably sick leave. Dealing with the move to Universal Credit on top of an already unsustainable workload will end in vulnerable claimants falling through the cracks. Who knows what will happen to them.”
“I’ve been in my role for several years and this was the worst it has gotten. It worsened my mental health to the point of severe burnout, with constant headaches when I am at work and bad anxiety. At its worst, it pushed me to self–harm and heavy contemplation of suicide.”
“The current workload as a Universal Credit work coach is unsustainable and has been for some time. There is no time to do the job properly and you are always rushing with back–to–back appointments, many of which are just 10 minutes long.”
“ESA is a ticking time bomb due to the lack of experienced staff. One manager said ‘just pay everyone and if it’s wrong it can be written off’! But millions of ESA claims are incorrect and these vulnerable customers could be owed thousands.”
In the forward to the PCS dossier, Martin Cavanagh, their DWP Group President, says: “The members’ testimonies demonstrate that the staffing crisis in DWP is creating an epidemic of mental ill health amongst staff and failing to protect the most vulnerable citizens in society.
“In the short–term, PCS is demanding that the DWP urgently reconsiders its priorities to ensure that work is prioritised to deal with issues impacting on vulnerable citizens.
“In the longer–term PCS is demanding that the UK Government and the DWP ensures that there are enough staff to ensure that there is a social security system that provides a genuine safety net for its citizens.
“A combination of 30,000 additional staff and of a refocusing of priorities could ensure that the DWP was able to deliver a modern and supportive welfare state.”
Ken Butler DR UK’s Welfare Rights and Policy Adviser said: “The content of the PCS dossier is shocking and deeply worrying.
“Jobcentre staff have no say in the Government’s benefit policy reforms but are expected to carry them out, including pressure to apply sanctions.
“Benefit policies need to be radically reformed if the social security system is to work for Disabled people.
“However, it will still fail unless it is administered by an adequate number of supported, well trained and properly paid staff.
“The PCS call for additional staff and of a refocusing of priorities is one DR UK strongly supports.”
For more information see:
- DWP Staffing Crisis Meeting Hears The Pain Of Understaffing available from pcs.org.uk.
- Staffing Crisis – PCS Members Explain How They Are Affected available from mypcs.my.salesforce.com.