Star Trek This Ain't!

by Fiona Staff

Next Generation HR…..yes it does sound like something the Gene Rodenberry would have written but sadly it's far from entertaining. Next Generation HR (or NGHR as we like to call it) is a Cabinet Office initiative to centralise HR functions across the Civil Service. The idea is that it will reduce costs if each function of HR is done in one place, rather than duplicated across umpteen Departments. That sort of makes sense I hear you say. Well…..

The first problem with NGHR is that hundreds of people have ended up in the redeployment pool (or equivalent for other Departments) as a result of the centralisation of work. They’re not there because there isn’t any work to be done, they’re there because someone has decided that we need to reduce staff in HR

Next we come to how NGHR works…or doesn’t as the case may be. Let’s look at one aspect of it…Recruitment. NGHR means that every advert for every job across the Civil Service is now handled in one central place. Not only are the job adverts there but the application process is too. The problem is each Department has it’s only vacancy filling process and they don’t always fit the new system. So when you come to apply for a job, the system is asking you to do things you don’t need to do and doesn’t allow you to do the things you do need to do. To use the Star Trek analogy, the transporters won’t beam up Klingons, the replicators won’t serve Vulcans and no-one is talking to the central computer!

Then there’s terms and conditions. NGHR is designed to bring all the T&C’s for all the Departments into line. Hands up who thinks the Government is going to pick the best T&C’s from each Department and introduce them across the Civil Service? Anyone? No one?? Of course they won’t. If they did it might make the Civil Service a bit more like the Federation instead of what they want…the Borg Collective!

To illustrate what we’re dealing with….for about a year or so, members of the National PCS committee and National Full Timers have been meeting with the Cabinet Office to set up a framework for negotiation. They were just about there when at the last minute the Cabinet Office snuck in a paragraph which basically tied the Union to any agreements but allowed the Government to opt out of anything they didn’t like. They seemed surprised when we didn’t sign up!

We all need to be vigilant. NGHR isn’t a laugh, it isn’t something that affects someone else and it isn’t friendly. PCS is working hard at all levels to ensure that your working conditions and your jobs remain safe but it’s a battle. If you want any more information about NGHR and how it may affect you, please contact the Branch Office.