More than 300 civilian workers at the Metropolitan Police have launched a two-week strike in a dispute over flexible working. Staff in the referencing and vetting team had been threatened with having their pay docked if they did not agree to a new attendance policy. They had planned to continue working from home despite being expected in the office, the Public and Commercial Services union said. The staff refused to return to the office for additional days which they said were unnecessary.

Matt Cane is general secretary of the Met’s Police Federation which representing 30,000 rank-and-file officers who unable to take industrial action over their pay and conditions. He said: “The irony of this strike will not be lost on our hard-working members, who are out on the streets of London 24 hours a day, seven days a week keeping the capital safe.”. But PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Our hard-working members in the Met are angry as they believe they have been continually disrespected and ignored by their bosses.

“If their pay will be docked when they’re not on strike, they feel they might as well lose pay by walking out. “The only way for Met managers to avoid the disruption of two weeks’ strike action is to get around the table and to listen to members’ concerns about the arbitrary new attendance policy.”. The Met said it has contingency plans for the strike and frontline services will not be affected.

A spokesman added: “We are disappointed the PCS feels such action is necessary and we remain committed to continuing to engage with the trade unions to resolve the dispute. “We have been engaging with our staff and the trade unions for more than a year on our new hybrid working policy which will ensure we can continue to do our very best to serve London, whilst giving support staff the flexibility to work from home up to two days per week.

“Given the likely small numbers involved, we are confident that this won’t affect policing in London. However we shall continue to monitor this developing situation in order to minimise any disruption to the Met and the people it serves.”. He said: “The vast majority of our hard-working staff are complying with the new hybrid working policy. The small percentage intending to strike are part of our vetting and referencing teams.

“Public services like call handling and other frontline roles will be not be affected but, as you would expect, we have full contingency plans in place. “We have been engaging with our staff and trade unions for over a year on this policy, which is in line with many other organisations. “Ultimately, this is about our commitment to delivering a better service for Londoners.”. In the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder by PC Wayne Couzens and a series of scandals, the vetting team has a crucial role in restoring public trust and confidence.