A BASINGSTOKE legal advisor has spoken out and said the job has become so stressful that many advisers are becoming ill.

As previously reported, staff at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court went on strike over working hours last week for nine days from October 22.

The strike also affected 64 other courts in England and Wales. 

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.

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

The Gazette spoke to one advisor who said the job has become so stressful that many are becoming ill. 

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The advisor, who did not wish to be named, said: “We sit in front of the magistrates and we advise them but the problem is that since this system has come in, somebody has decided that we have time on our hands when we are sitting in front of the magistrates, we, well as doing all the advising, also have to do all the inputting of all the results of every case that goes through the courts.

“That is basically putting so much stress on us and it is leading to more of a backlog and we have obviously already had a backlog because back in 2012 and 2013 the government got rid of lots of legal advisors meaning we are in court all the time."

They said the new system is in fact slowing things down more.

They continued: "As a legal adviser a case may only take five minutes in court but it might have a difficult result to it where I have to spend 20 minutes inputting it in the system.

“We either say to the magistrates can you retire for 20 minutes while I sit here and do data inputting or we say right we'll try and carry the case on and I will try and input data inputting while I am listing to the next case but the chances are I will make a mistake either in what I am advising or what I am putting in. Or we say right we will make a quick note of it and I will have to input it in my own time later on and that last one is the only way we can get through the amount of work that needs to be able to be done."

They said this has become "extremely frustrating" because advisors do not want to cause problems.

They continued: “We are doing a job that is dealing with criminals but it is also dealing with people who have been accused of something who are wanting justice to be done, as well as victims and witnesses, and all of my colleagues are very conscious and we try our best to keep up to date and we are bothered about people and we do think about the people who come to the courts.”

They said they know many colleagues who have become ill because of the stress and is now worried the same will happen to them.

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They added: “We are now multitasking and things are getting missed. I know somebody who ended up being stuck in prison, when they should not have, because of the system that ended up not sending the documentation correctly.”

A HM Courts and Tribunals Service spokesperson said: “Common Platform is fundamental to modernising the court system – replacing out-of-date systems and freeing up court staff for other vital work.

“142 employees voted to strike, but we will continue to work closely with all staff to support them through this transition and want to thank all the court staff, judges and others who have contributed to its design and implementation so far.”