Council commits to more flexible opening times

Plymouth City Council has confirmed its commitment to delivering better and more flexible services to residents by providing customer services at more convenient times for them.

The changes, which are part of the Council’s large scale programme to transform the way it provides services so they are more efficient and focused on customers’ needs, include extending opening hours at the new 1st Stop Shop in New George Street.

The Council is now planning to formalise new staff working arrangements that provide greater flexibility across all customer services and has been negotiating with trade unions over the last few weeks.

Around 140 out of 330 affected staff have voluntarily signed up to new terms and conditions which keep the number of hours worked and pay exactly the same as now, while allowing for extended opening hours such as opening the 1st Stop Shop in New George Street on Saturday mornings.

The proposed changes would provide the Council more flexibility to meet known and future customer demand and would help reduce peaks in demand through the week making visits easier for all customers.

Trade unions have resisted the changes despite exhaustive negotiations as some staff want to keep things as they are and only open 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

A key sticking point during the extensive negotiations with unions has been that they are insisting their members should be paid while getting ready for work, not just the period they are due to be serving customers.

The Council has made every effort to negotiate an agreement on new terms and conditions but these have now been exhausted.

The Council is making a formal HR1 notification that it intends to send a letter to affected staff that have not signed up to the new contracts saying they will be dismissed from their current contracts, but will be offered new contracts offering the same pay and working hours but with more flexibility over times.

The issue of the HR1 starts a further formal 45 day consultation with trade unions and staff, with the purpose of finding ways to avoid the need to terminate existing contracts. During this consultation staff will be offered the new contracts which they can sign up to voluntarily. The Council will also be working with the unions to seek alternatives to dismissal. If staff decide not to voluntarily sign up during this consultation period, the offer will be made again at the point that a notice of dismissal is given. No staff will be made redundant as they will all have the opportunity to sign a new contract.

Councillor Pete Smith, the Council’s Deputy Leader, who is responsible for customer services, said: “There is no question that the right thing to do is to move the Council to the same standard working practices that are widespread elsewhere and opening when the people we serve want us to. What was acceptable 20 years ago is not acceptable now and people expect more flexible opening. The 1st Stop Shop would be one of the only city centre shops not to be open at these times if we don’t do this.

“Unfortunately some of our staff seem to be very resistant to any change and are not prepared to sign up to new working hours, even though we have given them assurances that we can be flexible if they have over-riding personal reasons why they can’t work extended opening hours.

“This is categorically not about reducing pay or making staff work any longer. The pay will remain the same and staff will still work the same number of contractual hours per week. This is about extended opening hours and not being paid before starting a shift.

“If we don’t change we will quickly find that inefficient ways of working are so expensive and outmoded we’ll be forced to take more drastic action. It is a shame that some union representatives seem to have lost sight of what the Council is here to do, which is to serve the people of Plymouth.”