HM Land Registry staff have voted to end industrial action after winning concessions on office attendance rules.
Officials working at 14 Land Registry sites have taken action short of strike since 21 January after a ballot of the 3,800 HMLR staff who are members of civil service union PCS saw 84% back industrial action.
The staff have been working to rule – doing their own work but not covering for colleagues or taking on extra work outside their own job description and grade – in protest at Land Registry managers imposing a mandatory 60% office attendance policy.
PCS said the policy had “reduced flexibility, extended working days, brought financial impacts, and led to a detriment in personal wellbeing”.
Announcing an end to the dispute on Wednesday – having paused action in June to hold a ballot – PCS said 86% of members voted to stop industrial action after HMLR management agreed to make changes to office attendance policies.
The union said Land Registry managers have now agreed to improve flexibility, with office attendance being measured over 3-month periods instead of weekly.
It said they have also made a "firm commitment to prompt consultation should government back down on its current 60% attendance instruction".
PCS also said “further, strong measures have been negotiated to prevent and tackle micromanagement through access and misuse of staff data”.
According to the union, Land Registry management has also “completely dropped plans which would have downgraded work and could have damaged promotion opportunities”.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “This successful dispute has been won through the determination of hard-working staff. Their commitment to delivering a good service at the Land Registry is as strong as their fight against arbitrary and interfering management decisions.
“We welcome these outcomes, we hope that government takes note of the damage that office attendance policies can have on individuals, and I applaud the members who so successfully organised for justice in their workplace.”
PCS Land Registry group president Dave Lunn added: “What this campaign has shown is that PCS is a truly democratic union, with everything that has been achieved having been led by our members.
“What the campaign has also demonstrated is the power we have collectively through the use of industrial action and the value of our members standing together and playing an active role in their union’s campaigns.”
A spokesperson for HMLR said: “While the impact to customers and our service was negligible, we are pleased that the formal PCS dispute has now ended. We remain committed to ensuring that our workforce can deliver services effectively and efficiently which includes adhering to civil service attendance policies.”