The Unite branch at the FCA will shortly be taking industrial action.
So far, the following strike days have been fixed: 4 May, 5 May, 9 June, 10 June, 5 July and 6 July.
The work to rule will begin on 6 May and will continue for all days that are not strike days.
What is ‘working to rule’?
Most importantly, it means not working any longer than you are legally required to – which means 35 hours per week for most full-time people.
Your contract may contain wording which says that you can be made to work for more than 35 hours per week. We would interpret such wording strictly, for example:
- Wording saying that you have to work on “operational requirements” – Is the task in question actually a requirement for the FCA? Or it is something that seniors are choosing to do but could lawfully choose not to do?
- Wording saying that the FCA can increase your hours when “necessary” – Is the task truly necessary at this moment, as opposed to merely desirable or convenient?
- Wording saying that 35 hours is your “normal” working time – If your “normal” working week is stated to be 35 hours, it follows that working longer than that is abnormal. It should therefore happen only for a minority of the time.
If your line manager insists that a piece of work is genuinely “necessary”, a “requirement” etc, then ask them to give you a written direction to carry out the work and report it to us at uniteatfca@gmail.com.
Don’t accept vague references to our statutory objectives (which are not “requirements”). Ask for specifics. For example, “In which section of FSMA [or other legislation] does it say that the FCA needs to do this?” If you are given a legitimate answer, you should do the work.
During the time you are working to rule please record your working hours accurately on Workday.
There are also the overarching requirements of the Working Time Regulations, which apply irrespective of what it says in your contract. These include a maximum working time of 48 hours per week and a guaranteed one day off per week.
Working to rule also means not carrying out duties which are outside the scope of your contractual role (e.g. an Associate covering a Technical Specialist’s work while they are away).
What to tell your manager
You do not have to give your manager advance warning that you are taking industrial action, although you may choose to do so if you want to.
The industrial action has been well publicised, so your manager is probably already expecting at least some of their team to be involved in it. It should come as no surprise if and when you tell them that you are exercising your legal right to participate in it.
Union members and people taking industrial action have legal protections against mistreatment. We trust the professionalism of the FCA’s managers, and we do not expect anyone to be mistreated due to their union membership or the industrial action.
If you have any concerns that you are being pressurised not to exercise your legal rights or otherwise mistreated please contact uniteatfca@gmail.com. This would be a serious matter and we would escalate it within the national Unite organisation as appropriate.
Out of office messages
When working to rule or on strike, we recommend every member puts an internal out of office message.
The FCA has made it clear in its Q&A document that you should simply say that you are unavailable that day and not mention the strike or industrial action. They have also asked that staff working to rule do not put on continuous out of office emails during this period. Whilst we are concerned about the FCA’s approach to clamping down on staff discussion, we recommend staff taking part to follow the rules laid out by the FCA as we do not want any colleague to face repercussions for taking part.
Likewise, please consider advertising the contractual hours you will be working to your email signatures, though again, the FCA has forbidden staff from mentioning the reasons for this.
Advertising the hours you work at least helps colleagues know what to expect and when they are able to contact you. This also helps raise awareness and visibility of our actions with colleagues across the organisation.
We will also be handing out stickers in the mornings during working to rule so you can give the action visibility and keep momentum up.
Non-members
As union members we are keen to get all the support we can. If you want to join the industrial action we recommend you choose to join us as a member of Unite. That way you get a say in how we operate.
The government has set out the status of non-union members who choose to join a lawful industrial action here.
If the practice of working to rule spreads, it might open the way to a much-needed conversation about achieving a healthier work/life balance at the FCA.
