One in 20 civil servants work over and above their contracted hours, breaking the working time regulations by working over 49 hours per week.
Excessive workload is being blamed for creeping hours with half admitting they work extra hours to keep in control. This compares to a third in the private sector delivering civil service contracts.
Shockingly, nearly 40 per cent say they drag themselves to work even when ill to keep on top of things. One sixth cut their holidays short while a third weren’t able to take their full holiday allowance.
The burden of extra hours is resulting in more than half experiencing difficulties balancing work and family life.
Commenting, Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) who is consulting with members on industrial action said: “It smacks of double standards, with the government promoting work-life balance policies, when over half those surveyed experienced difficulty in balancing their work and family/private life. Excessive workloads resulting from job cuts and pay cuts in real terms are all hitting the morale of dedicated staff committed to delivering first rate service. The government as a responsible employer needs to wake up to the fact that decent public services need enough people with enough resources to deliver them.”
The research was conducted by the Centre for Industrial Relations at Keele University in conjunction with the PCS. The union say that the 24/7 report supports their claim that workloads are increasing as the government ploughs ahead with 84,000 civil and public service job cuts which it says is damaging the delivery of public services.
One Response
Working hours
Ummm!
Not ‘shocking’ at all?
Doesn’t the EU Working Hours Directive appear to have been a syndicalist-inspired piece of Euro-legislation, possibly promoted by union-supported EU Governments in the so-called ‘Club-Med’ countries, that of course favoured their members? – and good for them.
But it may also be said, this legislation does appear only to be strictly hounoured in the UK as far as we may possibly observe?
Of course, none of us can support employee burn-out and ‘bullying’ over-time. And we all need time off. But does anyone know any successful committed senior worker who doesn’t do what they feel they need to do to support themselves, their organisation and their own livelihood, as they see fit, whatever the arbitrary ‘legislation’? More especially, did you ever meet anyone from outside the EU as our major worldwide economic competitors, who will eat our breakfasts, lunch and dinner if we aren’t careful, who took such an arbitrary measure as a ‘sensible working time restriction’? I haven’t, and I have managed and worked with companies across the world.
I for one am delighted that UK civil servants are getting real about the needs to do whatever we need to protect our economic interests and work the hours necessary – as we all do.
When our economic future is more secure, we may indeed work shorter hours. Meanwhile, may we be spared special pleading from membership-based interest groups who seem to have no idea about where our national wealth is really generated? Your economic future is mine, and mine yours.
Sincerely
Jeremy