Updates to the Job Security Policy
Following our agreement with LBG that the current redundancy terms will stay in place until 2024, discussions have been taking place over a number of months about aspects of the heritage policies that could be harmonised and other associated matters.
We're pleased to report that the following agreement has been reached:
- With effect from 1st
July 2021 any current LBG employee who was transferred into the Group with redundancy terms from their previous employer that are less advantageous than the LBG 2012 terms* will have their terms improved.
There will also be a review of any future TUPE transfers into the Group to consider whether the same treatment is appropriate.
This is a significant beneficial change for many LBG staff who were TUPE’d into the Group with statutory redundancy terms only.
*The severance terms for LBG colleagues employed on or after 1 Jan 2012 can be viewed here. - The protection arrangements applying to hLloyds and hHBOS staff who move to a role at a lower grade as an alternative to redundancy (or through role re-evaluation) have been aligned as follows:
a) Pay protection:
From 1 January 2024 colleagues will no longer be eligible for market movement pay awards guaranteed for a 3 year period. Instead, colleagues will have their existing salary maintained at its current level and will be eligible for future pay reviews, in line with the annually negotiated pay deal and at the pay range for the new role.
Any colleagues who are subject to guaranteed market movement pay awards by 31 December 2023 will continue to benefit from these awards until their respective 3 years have elapsed.
b) Non-contractual variable pay (Group Performance Share [GPS]):
Colleagues’ opportunity will be at the higher GPS range for 12 months following their appointment to the new role, when applying discretion at Grade D+. Colleagues moving from Grade C to B will move to the Group’s profit share scheme with immediate effect.
c) Holidays:
Existing holiday entitlement will be retained for the current calendar year and a further two years, before reverting to the LBG holiday entitlement for the new role.
Members can visit the Policy pages on Life@LBG for guidance on protection arrangements (please note, this is an internal link that will only work on LBG systems).
Group Performance Share
Following last week’s news that the Financial Conduct Authority fined LBG £90.7m for misleading customers over their home insurance renewal quotes, Accord's general secretary, Ged Nichols, wrote to the Group asking for a discussion about how this might impact on the calculation of any GPS award for the current year.
In previous joint discussions, we’ve shared members’ feelings about the lack of an award for 2020 and been assured that the Group’s profit target for this year had been set recognising the unique trading conditions created by the pandemic and other challenges facing the business.
The Group’s performance for the first half of the year looks positive as we await the disclosure of the H1 results later this month. We also understand that the second half of the year is more uncertain and that there is no guarantee that a GPS award will be paid in March 2022.
However, we think there must be an award given that most other banks paid some bonuses for 2020 and LBG staff shouldn’t lose out twice.
We want to discuss what steps can be taken to restore employees’ confidence that the Group will do the right thing in relation to the 2021 GPS award.
In addition, we think it’s time to re-visit the debate on profit-sharing and the balance between fixed and variable pay. We don’t think it’s right that so many people are so reliant on a high level of variable pay. Especially as they will be negatively impacted by corporate failings that they have absolutely no chance of influencing.
We await a response from the Group and will be in touch with members as soon as we can.
Any queries or comments in response to the above should be sent to [email protected].
