18 Lloyds, 2 BoS and 15 Halifax branches to close

35 branch closures announced today

18 Lloyds, 2 BoS and 15 Halifax branches will close between January and September 2024.

No colleague will be placed at risk of redundancy, a position which Accord fully supports. There is a job for every impacted colleague whether that’s in a branch or another part of the Group.

Halifax will close its 3 branches in Scotland with all colleagues being redeployed into Bank of Scotland branches.

The redeployment options available to individual colleagues will be decided by a combination of job availability and geography.

Option 1: Colleagues in a closing branch can be deployed in another branch/branches either in their existing pool or another pool within the travel guidance limits. Colleagues may be redeployed into an alternative brand.

Option 2: Colleagues in a closing branch are redeployed into suitable alternative roles outside of Community Bank.

Option 3: Colleagues in a closing branch are redeployed using a combination of options 1 and 2.

Individual outcomes should be available to every colleague two months before their branch closure date and based on roles available at that time.

Accord has worked hard to ensure that no colleague will be out of pocket by securing a commitment from LBG to finance any reasonable additional travel costs associated with moving to a different base branch when their current branch closes.

Reasonable travel will now be defined as 20 miles one way or 1 hour of travel time one way. This only applies to branch closures.

This means:

• If you’re asked to move to a branch 15 miles away which takes you 1 hr 15 mins – this will not be considered reasonable, but you can agree to the changes on an individual basis.
• If you’re asked to move to a branch 25 miles away which takes you 45 mins – this will not be considered reasonable, but you can agree to the changes on an individual basis.   

The allowance, which was formerly paid for reasonable additional travel costs for up to 2 years, will now be paid for an unlimited period whilst the colleague remains in the “go to” branch. The payment will end when the colleague decides to leave the “go to” branch for any reason.

This is good news for all colleagues affected by today’s announcement.

Every branch that closes has an impact on our members and the bank’s customers. For our members, there’s the possibility of disruption to working hours, location, and work-life balance. For customers, there is of course the inconvenience of changing to the nearest Post Office / branch and the loss of trusted relationships with LBG staff formed over many years.

Supporting members

Any Accord member who faces working hours/pattern changes or impacts on work/life balance that they can’t work through locally will have our full support to find a mutually acceptable and fair solution.

We'll be contacting members affected by the closures to offer support and guidance.

Any more general enquiries should be referred to [email protected]