We’ve received a number of queries about our report on the opportunity for civil servants to opt to revert to pre-Haddington Road hours, which appeared in the last Fórsa News Bulletin (18^th January 2018).

In relation to the permanency of the reversion, members should note that section 2.12.2 of the Public Service Stability Agreement says the opportunity is: “to permanently revert to the pre-Haddington Road Agreement hours.” The agreement does not make any provision for altering this.

The new pattern is calculated in the same manner as a worksharing option. In this case, a member who works 41 hours per week works an annual total of 43.25 hours x 52.18 days. This equates to 2256.785  hours per annum. Those who opt to return to the Pre-Haddington Road hours will work 41 hours per week – or 2139.38 hours per annum. This equates to 94.797% which, when rounded, becomes a 95% worksharing pattern.