Legal advisors strike outside Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court

Legal advisors from across North Hampshire stepped away from the busy courtroom to picket outside of the court on the morning of Friday, December 2.

As previously reported, trade union PCS said the row is about a new system called Common Platform which has left staff working longer hours as they struggle to record all case results on it. 

Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) said the system had seen an initial successful trial, however, a staff survey found tasks took longer, levels of stress increased, and work-life balance was negatively impacted.

Those striking believe the system is fundamentally flawed and negatively impacts both victims of crime and wrongly accused defendants’ ability to achieve justice.

READ MORE: PCS strike: Legal advisor has their say on the new court system

The striking staff said: “This isn’t about change; we’re used to change. This is about the fundamental issues, not about using computers, we’ve used them for decades. We feel so strongly about this because as a body we want justice for everyone, and this is stopping us from being able to do that.

“This is not lawyers whingeing about some technical tool that they have to use, we’re genuinely concerned about the knock-on effect on the general public and the fairness in the courts, especially for those who don’t have their own lawyers.”

They said that striking is not something they feel comfortable doing because they know their colleagues will be left with picking up the slack but must be done for action to be taken.

They added: “The whole purpose of the new system is that it is used from cradle to grave: from the moment the police get involved they are supposed to use the system, then they give it to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to prosecute in court. The defence is supposed to be able to log in and do their bit, we do our results and then the case can go up to the crown court. The whole thing is supposed to move smoothly through and be used there.”

Some have been forced to work until midnight to keep up, PCS said in a statement.

The strikers continued: “Our actual job is to give legal advice to the magistrates who are not legally trained in most cases, so in a busy room dealing with road traffic offences you might have a police prosecutor, three lay magistrates and a defendant who’s representing yourself. So, we are the only qualified lawyer in the room and if we’re busy fighting the computer system we may miss something in court that’s been said that might have an effect on someone keeping their driver’s license for instance.

SEE ALSO: Royal Mail workers protest outside Basingstoke delivery office

“But this isn’t about the human error, it’s about the system not recording everything it’s told.

The protestors said the fact that CPS is not using this system, shows a clear indication of just how bad it is.

The advisors told the Gazette they have been working excessively long days until as late as 11pm to try and keep up to date with the workload.