Thousands of job centre staff could go on strike in the new year following a row with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) over pay.

The Public and Commercial Services Union is threatening to ballot its members to go on strike over a pay deal offered by the government in November.

According to the union, a ‘productivity bonus’ put forward by the government will reward employees who decide not to take statutory time off.

The union has claimed the DWP is guilty of hypocrisy for promoting a work/life balance, then encouraging its own staff to give up these benefits.

A spokesman for the union said: “Those people on maternity or paternity leave, those people who are in the Territorial Army or in Iraq, will lose this bonus.”

The union is also angry at a below-inflation pay increase of 2.6%, which it says amounts to £1 per day after tax and National Insurance contributions for many.

There have already been wildcat strikes in some job centres over the proposals, which the union said were forced upon its members without consultation.

The bonus scheme stipulates that all paid and unpaid leave which amounts to more than five days a year, other than annual leave and bank holidays, would lead to a reduction in bonus payment.

No one from the DWP was available for comment as Recruiter went to press.