FCDO to move out of Abercrombie House

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced to staff, with only an hour’s advance notice to union representatives, that FCDO will be leaving East Kilbride in 2025 for a new city centre site in Glasgow. The exact location has yet to be revealed but the employer has told PCS it believes it will have more than enough capacity to meet the department’s future Places for Growth (PfG) aims of increasing staffing levels outside of London.

PCS recognises that the move is welcomed by some members who prefer to work in Glasgow. However, there are many staff who are based in Kilbride and rural locations for whom this move presents considerable concerns.

Whilst FCDO have made some positive soundings about the potential for excess fares, and given an assurance that there will not be compulsory redundancies as a result of the move, many staff are rightly worried about the impact on their ability to regularly commute to the new location.

PCS also immediately raised concerns about the impact on outsourced workers currently employed by G4S and OCS. FCDO have advised the impacted employees that the will stay at Abercrombie House. PCS have contacted the external employers to request consultation.

The Organisational Impact Directorate has assured unions that it will work closely with us on the planning for the move. We have already asked for the Equality Impact Assessment for the move and will request sight of a postcode analysis of employees to explore the issues further.

Although the announcement of the move of HMRC to Abercrombie House was positive for many HMRC employees, PCS recognise that the news is more complex for members in FCDO. We will continue to follow up the concerns and issues that we have already raised, and will consult members through members' meetings on any proposals presented to us.

 Please email pcs.union@fcdo.gov.uk or helenf@pcs.org.uk with any queries or questions.