Fórsa’s Civil Service Division has referred management proposals for recording the working time of legal professional and technical grades in the Chief State Solicitor’s Office (CSSO) to adjudication. The move came following discussions with management, after which the union said the CSSO lacked the necessary policies to accommodate a move to full electronic recording of time.

Fórsa official Seán Carabini explained that, while circulars governing time recording in the civil service were written with general service staff in mind, the situation for legal professional and technical staff is more nuanced.

“Their pay structure assumes that they will work typical office hours with only occasional ‘exceptional’ additional attendance. However, we believe that a move to full electronic time recording will show that many are working uncompensated additional hours.

“If the office wants to introduce this, there needs to be a discussion about introducing supporting policies, including how we handle the inevitable situation of someone who is working regular, as opposed to exceptional, additional hours. We’re simply not ready for what is envisaged,” he said.

Solicitors also have a responsibility to acknowledge both their employment relationship with the CSSO and, separately, their role as officers of the court, which Seán describes as an added complexity.

“In effect they, serve two masters, meaning that they can often be pulled in a number of directions. This can often cause regular additional attendances,” he said.

Seán acknowledged that members working in these roles are often under enormous pressure. “We want to make sure that where they regularly have to undertake additional work, they have it recognised,” he said.