20th April 2024 7:45 am
The Working for an MP website is a resource for anyone working for a British Member of Parliament or with an interest in how Parliament works. You can read about the site’s history, or get in touch with suggestions or feedback, or find out about the help and advice available to staff from the House of Commons, including the IGCS Behaviour Code.
Are you OK?
Are you OK? How are you coping? Do you need to talk to someone?
An MP’s office can be a busy and stressful environment at the best of times, and over the past few weeks, staff have been under a lot of extra pressure.
The work we do can put a strain on our mental health and wellbeing, and we can often feel isolated. If you are finding it difficult to cope, or just need someone to talk to, or somewhere to offload, please remember that help is available.
The Wellness Working Group offers lots of useful information advice and you can access their hub here: https://hopuk.sharepoint.com/sites/hct-wellbeinghub
Please ring the helpline and talk to someone. It’s what it’s there for.
Health Assured provides an independent support service to MPs’ staff, it is completely confidential, free and can be accessed 24/7 by phone, online portal and app. You can access support for any issue you are struggling with, it doesn’t have to be work related. Look here for further information, their helpline number and a link to access the service: https://hopuk.sharepoint.com/sites/hct-wellbeinghub/SitePages/What-suport-is-there-.aspx
Dissolution Guidance
A dedicated General Election Planning Group in Parliament is leading work to ensure Parliament is fully prepared for a general election to take place by January 2025.
The House has now published its revised dissolution guidance, and all staff will find it valuable. You can find it on the new parliamentary intranet, ParliNet.
You can also find more information and links on the w4mp page on dissolution.
w4mp and ParliNet
ParliNet, available to those with a parliamentary login, contains everything you need to stay connected to the parliamentary community. Use it to find information like catering menus, events, contact numbers, and the latest news. If you find any links on w4mp to the old intranet, please let us know.
To access the hotlines on Parlinet you can follow this direct link. To search the document use the SharePoint search box by typing CTRL-F / CMD-F.
Follow us @w4mpsite on X/Twitter or find us on Facebook
Read a welcome to the site from Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons
Please see our Covid-19 page for details of support available to staff.
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Latest News
Updated dissolution guidance
Updated dissolution guidance has been published by both the House of Commons and IPSA. For further information and links, please see our page on dissolution here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp-guides/general-elections/dissolution-guidance/
Dissolution Guidance – South West briefing for Members’ offices
Members’ offices are offered an opportunity to join an in-person briefing in Bristol with representatives of relevant services from across the House Administration and IPSA to find out more about the Dissolution Guidance and ask any questions they may have. To register to attend, please email MST@parliament.uk
Paper Trail: new weekly Vote Office bulletin
The Vote Office’s Publications Enquiries Team has launched a new weekly bulletin summarising all reports and papers published and available in the Vote Office. Paper Trail features links to the week’s bills, government papers, select committee and NAO reports. Paper Trail is available on ParliNET as well as in hard copy from the Vote Office…
Copyright Infringement
If your office receives a ‘copyright infringement notice’, please inform Tara Cullen in the Members’ Services Team immediately, and do not respond to the notice until you have discussed it with her. MST is aware that there are also some scams going around at the moment, and it’s important to get them checked out. No genuine organisation…
Downloadable Certificate of Employers’ Liability 2024
All MPs are covered by employers’ liability insurance and a copy of the certificate should be printed and displayed in your office. The insurance renews on 1 April every year. You can find more information here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp-guides/your-office/insurance-for-mps/
Archived guides can be found on the w4mp archive. They should not be relied on as expressions of current practice.
Our humourous alt.guides can be found on alt.w4mp.org, along with an archive of Hoby cartoons.
“The MPs’ assistants and researchers walk at twice the pace of everyone else and their eyes burn twice as fiercely” John Crace, The Guardian, 14 May 2015
Header image cropped from Wikimedia Commons image by user:Colin CC BY-SA-4.0
