Heathrow bedlam blamed on ‘nightmare’ new rota ‘forcing border staff to work 12-hour shifts’

The recent chaos at Britain’s borders has been driven by ‘nightmare’ changes to guards’ rotas which has forced them to work 12-hour shifts, MailOnline can reveal.

Since at least May, there have been huge queues at Heathrow Airport, with some passengers reporting three-hour waits at passport gates.

Earlier this month, the Home Office finally admitted the situation was ‘unacceptable’ when a pregnant woman fainted while in a queue of people waiting to have their documents checked.

An IT failure at the airport on Friday caused further chaos, with thousands forced to wait in queues of up to three hours.

Now, speaking exclusively to MailOnline, a Border Force official has suggested that the problems are at least partly caused by changes to the staff rota which saw shifts extended by two hours in August.

Officers had already had their shift lengths increased to 10 hours and 25 minutes but this was further extended to just over 12 hours, meaning that more staff have suffered from exhaustion and called in sick as a result.

The unnamed staff member claimed: ‘The rotas are a nightmare. They made all officers extend their shifts by two hours. So an already long 10.25 hour shift became 12.25 hours.

‘Deputy director at Heathrow Raj Johal introduced these new rosters. They are highly unpopular amongst the staff, higher officers, senior officers and including the rostering and resource management department.’

He also claimed that more than 20 per cent of staff were off sick in August, whereas on a normal day the absence rate is around half that. He added: ‘It’s only going to get worse’.

A spokesman for the Immigration Services Union backed up the staff member’s claims, saying that a range of rostering issues during the Covid-19 pandemic has created ‘chaos for staff and caused widespread resentment’.

A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘It is inaccurate to say changes to Border Force staff rotas caused a spike in sickness in August. The changes were only introduced on August 22nd, and were made following extensive consultation with staff and the trade unions, including the Immigration Service Union, to improve our operational efficiency and effectiveness.

‘Our utmost priority is protecting the safety and health of the public. We will never compromise on border security and continue to fulfil our vital function of keeping the border secure and provide the resources needed to do this.

‘Border Force regularly reviews staffing requirements to ensure resources are deployed flexibly as and when required to carry out the vital function of border security.’

Huge queues at Heathrow were first reported on May 17, when passengers flying into the UK faced ‘bedlam’ at passport gates.

In July, passengers said they had ‘never seen anything like’ the queues at Heathrow Terminal 5 as officials blamed the scenes on staff having to self-isolate.

Similar scenes in August were also blamed on staff shortages caused by Covid-19.

Further pictures and video from earlier this month showed long snaking lines of travellers packed closely together with no social distancing.

One holidaymaker told how he saw a pregnant woman pass out after a queue only ‘moved about five feet’ in the space of around 45 minutes.

The Border Force official also told MailOnline that newer staff are having to do all night shifts because older staff ‘on better terms and conditions are no longer allowed to do them’.

This means that there are fewer staff on busier day shifts.

The official added: ‘These new rosters started on 22nd August. A week before the busiest period at Heathrow.’

He also claimed that some officers are unable to even ‘stamp passports’ and are instead ‘sat in back offices’.

The number of officers on ‘restricted duties’ due to health problems is also on the rise, he added.

Speaking to MailOnline, the ISU said the problems are further compounded by a ‘perfect storm’ of a lack of funding and the fact that there are not enough new recruits.

‘There has been some limited recruitment into Heathrow in recent months but it has barely scratched the surface of the chronic underfunding at Heathrow,’ they said.

‘Plus it takes 12 months to train a border officer and face to face training has been impacted by the pandemic.

‘Staff are, understandably, voting with their feet and leaving the business; either to more supportive roles elsewhere or all together. The cumulative impact has been an almost perfect storm.’

The delays on Friday were caused by what a Heathrow spokesperson said was a ‘systems failure’ impacting the airport’s e-gates.

Documentary maker Louis Theroux was among the thousands of passengers caught up in the travel chaos.

Disgruntled passengers took to social media to share their frustration with one claiming queues for immigration checks were ‘one kilometer’ long and others slamming the ‘absolute farce.’

Travel industry experts have repeatedly warned the chaotic scenes seen in the wake of the country reopening are blighting the UK’s global reputation, while running the risk of a spike in Covid cases – further jeopardising the already crisis-hit tourism sector.

Tory MPs demanded answers from the head of Border Force over the Heathrow queuing scandal seen in recent months but Paul Lincoln, the agency’s director general, has not commented publicly on the issue in recent weeks.

Border Force chief Paul Lincoln, a career civil servant who has also served in the Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office, had his salary bumped up from £130,000-£135,000 to between £135,000 and £140,000 in the last financial year, accounts show.

He has overseen a summer of Heathrow border chaos dating back to at least May, when some passengers reported three-hour waits at passport gates.

In July, it was announced he will soon leave his current role, a month after being made an OBE for services to border security.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan-Smith and James Gray, MP for North Wiltshire, have called on senior officials including Mr Lincoln to explain what is causing the ‘unacceptable’ queues.