Question

To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what (a) overtime and (b) flexible working arrangements are in place for clerking, catering, security, Hansard and other ancillary or support staff and officers of the House during late sittings of the House.

The House of Commons terms and conditions of employment include provision to compensate staff for working late and/or additional hours during late sittings of the House.

Staff in pay bands A–E (and some senior staff) required to work until the rise of the House or beyond are paid an Unsocial Hours Payment (UHP) for the commitment to work to an undefined time and a flat rate for each additional hour they work after 6pm once that have completed 8 hours work during that day. Staff who are not normally required to work to the rise of House or beyond, but agree to do so, may be eligible for paid overtime payments or time off in lieu (TOIL).

Staff in catering pay bands are required to work until 15 minutes after the rise of the House if they are contracted to work in venues that supply services to Members. Staff who work in these areas or volunteer to work in these areas are paid overtime for any additional hours worked.

Line managers have the discretion to agree flexibility around working hours by compensating individuals for additional hours worked by granting TOIL. Where business needs allow, TOIL can be granted to manage peaks and troughs in workloads. The extent to which TOIL is used varies between areas or roles, but is used frequently in some cases where workloads vary significantly between sitting and non-sitting periods. Work is under way to introduce a Flexible Time Management Policy.

Security staff are employed by the Metropolitan Police Service and are paid in accordance with their terms and conditions of employment.