Union plans 'mass disruption' at ombudsman over disgruntled staff

Union chiefs have said the legal ombudsman service is in ‘disarray’ as the prospects loom of potential disruptive action by staff.

The Public and Commercial Services Union has met chief ombudsman Paul McFadden for talks on coming to a formal recognition agreement but says little progress has been made.

The union has accused the complaints handler of refusing to acknowledge ‘serious and fundamental concerns’.

‘It is obvious that the organisation is facing an escalating crisis and is in complete disarray as the attrition level continues to rise,’ the PCS said. ‘Over the last 12 months LeO has lost almost 22% of the permanent staffing resource yet the chief ombudsman continues with the mantra that the senior management team’s assessment is that "things are going well". It is evident that there is a complete failure to grasp the serious and significant concerns.’

Problems at the legal ombudsman in the last two years have been well documented, with a growing backlog of cases and massive delays in starting investigations, leaving customers and lawyers in limbo for months and even years while complaints are left unopened. The organisation has increased its budget – albeit by less than it wanted – and will set out its new funding demands in the coming weeks when it publishes its latest business plan.

McFadden told the Gazette last month that 40 new staff are to join from this spring and that this would be a ‘real tipping point towards being sustainable’. He predicted that the backlog could be as much as halved in the next year.

But the PCS says problems persist, including high staff turnover, staffing shortages, a two-tier workforce and staff stress. The union said it has asked to work with the ombudsman to resolve these issues but has been told that now is not the right time for formal recognition.

PCS national officer Andrew Lloyd said: ‘It’s a disgrace that the organisation fails to recognise the serious issues that our members are facing. In the absence of a commitment to work with PCS we will press ahead and launch a formal recognition campaign that will legally force recognition.

‘The campaign will cause mass disruption that is completely avoidable, but the intransigent actions of the employers’ representatives leave us with no alternative.’

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