Legal advisers and court associates working in the magistrates court will vote next week on possible industrial action. Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union will hold a strike ballot over the use of the HM Courts & Tribunals Service Common Platform.

The union said the decision of the HMCTS Crime Programme Board and senior judiciary to continue the national roll-out came despite months of inaction to resolve concerns about the system and its effect on court staff.

In a statement, the PCS said: ‘Common Platform remains fundamentally unfit for purpose and PCS members are no longer willing to have to grapple with a system that is negatively and significantly impacting on their health, safety and well-being.’

The ballot for potential walkouts will begin next Thursday and run until 11 August.

The union is demanding that no new cases are inputted onto Common Platform and that the court service undertakes a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for the system in consultation with the PCS.

Stress surveys and equality impacts should also be carried out and feedback from early adopter sites where Common Platform has been rolled out should be made public. The union also wants assurances there will be no further job losses arising from the system.

The government revealed earlier this year that as at 31 March 2021, HMCTS spent £236m on implementing the Common Platform programme, which included £36m on staffing, £300,000 on consultancy and £199m on developing the system.

In November, the PCS said the system was ‘not fit for purpose’ and that its use had sent work-related stress and anxiety levels among members in HMCTS ‘through the roof’.

HMCTS insists that Common Platform is a fundamental part of the HMCTS Reform programme and essential to increase the efficiency of the criminal justice system overall and bring people speedier access to justice, replacing whole networks of outdated systems that are no longer fit for purpose.

Once Common Platform is operating at full capacity, officials say, it will cut down on duplication and unnecessary wasted time for admin teams, freeing up resources to focus on things that really matter.

A spokesperson added: 'We are committed to working with staff and unions on the rollout of the Common Platform, which has managed over 100,000 criminal cases since it began.

'HMCTS has engaged extensively with the PCS on the Common Platform and is committed to continuing discussions with them during the weeks and months ahead as the system is delivered.'

 

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