Thousands of Land Registry staff have voted to strike after being told to work from their offices for three days a week, which may hit the expected surge in housebuying activity ahead of stamp duty changes later this year.
The Public and Commercial Services union said its members voted for industrial action after the department informed workers that hours worked from home would be cut back.
The union says 3,800 staff based in 14 offices across England and Wales are affected.
The vote for strike action came last Friday, with the union adding that staff were also concerned about the government department “inappropriately using personal data and having to accept extra responsibilities without extra pay”.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote says: “The government doesn’t seem to learn that applying arbitrary targets on office attendance doesn’t increase productivity and is unpopular with staff members.
“If they want a motivated, hard-working workforce, ministers should trust their own employees to have some say over their working conditions, rather than acting like Victorian bosses.
“It’s not too late for management to avoid strike action by ending this dispute.”
The union is yet to outline when any strikes may take place.
The move comes ahead of an expected surge in homebuying in the run-up to the stamp duty changes at the start of April, which will see relief on the levy not extended for first-time buyers paying up to £425,000 for a home.
Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner says: “Upcoming changes to stamp duty are likely to generate volatility, as buyers bring forward their purchases to avoid the additional tax.
“This will lead to a jump in transactions in the first three months of 2025, especially in March.”
The Land Registry says the move is in line with government protocols which say that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff is the best working balance for civil servants.
The department spokesman adds: “We have consistently delivered essential services such as searches, registrations (including expedites), and customer contact during previous periods of industrial action and there is no reason why any potential future action should impact any forthcoming transactions.”
“We will continue to review our processes and will inform our customers of the measures we will put in place, if and when any industrial action is called by the PCS union.”
The agency adds that the staff information it makes use of “is performance-related data and not personal data”.
