Union Mail – November 2014: Holiday Pay/Christmas Holiday Booking

Holiday Pay

There has been considerable media interest in the judgement of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) regarding whether overtime should be included in the calculation of holiday pay.  The judgement has clarified that overtime should be included in the calculation of holiday pay but this only applies to the basic four weeks annual leave required under the EU Working Time Directive.
The EAT has given permission for the judgement to be appealed to the Court of Appeal and this means that any final decision is still likely to be some way off.  In the meantime, we are talking to HR about the possible implications for Nationwide and will advise members of any further developments in due course.

Tim Poil
General Secretary

Christmas Eve – Holiday Booking Arrangements

As most branches and departments are closing early, we’ve agreed with HR that you only need to book a half-day of annual leave (pro-rata if you’re part time i.e. if you normally work 6 hours you only need to book 3 hours holiday leave).  This only applies if you’d normally work on the day that Christmas Eve falls (Wednesday this year).

If you work in the Branch Network and you’re taking TOIL instead of working on Christmas Eve, then you only need to ‘spend’ the same amount of TOIL as you would have taken in holiday.   For example, a full-time employee would ‘spend’ 3.5 hours of TOIL, and a part-time employee who normally works a 4 hour day only needs to ‘spend’ 2 hours of TOIL.

On New Year’s Eve most areas will be finishing work at 3pm.  However, for the purposes of booking holiday this is considered to be a full day.

Tim Poil
General Secretary

NGSU News in Brief

Employee Involvement Committee

The EIC is the body that oversees the formal relationship between Nationwide and NGSU.   The Committee met in September and received a presentation about the 5 year corporate plan and the strategic objectives underpinning the creation of ‘The Digital Society’.  The Committee is continuing to monitor trends in disciplinary and grievance hearings and overseeing a commitment to resolve situations informally wherever possible. The next EIC meeting is in December 2014.

Joint Consultation and Negotiation Committee

The JCNC is the formal interaction between NGSU and HR.  The Committee meets monthly in Swindon and discusses issues that impact directly on employees.  At the October meeting the Union raised concerns about the issue of a ‘Working Guidelines’ document to employees in Contact Centres in Direct and Customer Service and Operations.  The document contained details of terms and conditions that were incorrect, out of date and potentially discriminatory – and has been immediately withdrawn from use.  The JCNC is continuing to consider issues relating to travel insurance arrangements for employees using public transport for business purposes and long service awards.

Health & Safety Committee

The Committee meets quarterly to consider operational issues impacting on employees’ safety and wellbeing and to review the Society’s strategy to meet appropriate H&S legislation. The Committee discussed plans to address a number of issues arising from the new e-learning package and received updates about a project examining the process for dealing with customer conflict and actions to address the misuse and vandalism in toilet facilities across Administration Centre sites.

Living Wage

The Living Wage has been increased to £7.85 per hour and to £9.15 in London. The new rate is effective from 3 November 2014 and is now 21% higher than the National Minimum Wage which is currently set at £6.50.

Shared Parental Leave

The new Shared Parental Leave arrangements are due to come into force on 1 December 2014 and will apply to eligible parents where a baby is born on or after 5 April 2015 or a child is placed for adoption on or after that date. ACAS has issued a good practice guide for employers and employees and this is available to download at www.acas.org.uk. Details of how the arrangements will apply in Nationwide should be issued soon.

Rapport Magazine

The Winter edition of the Union’s Rapport magazine will be distributed in early November. This month we feature more inspiring stories from Union members; tips on staying safe when getting home after the office party; the importance of making a Will and how to get a discount from solicitors, Slater & Gordon’s online will service and a special offer from Westfield Health’s cash plan – apply before 30 November 2014 and qualifying periods for claims will be waived.

Branch Regional Councils

We are holding Branch Regional Council meetings through out November and EIC meetings in December. If you have any issues you’d like to raise at the meeting please contact your local Union Rep.

• 5 November – North 2 (Counties & Cymru; North West; Manchester; Yorkshire)

• 10 November – South 1 (Herts & Essex; North East London; Greater London; Central London; Home Counties)

• 11 November – South 2 (Severnside & Ridgeway; South Wales; South Coast Central; Wessex; South West)

• 14 November – South 3 (Kent; Southern Counties; Sussex & Surrey; Surrey & Shires)

• 20 November – North 3 (The Midlands; East Midlands; Northamptonshire & North Bucks; Anglia; Eastern)

• 26 November – North 1 (North & East Scotland; West Scotland & Borders; North East England; Northern Ireland; Nationwide International)

Win a Holiday in Dubai

The NGSU Travel Club is offering members the chance to win a free cruise or holiday to Dubai for 2 people. To enter simply visit the Travel Club website and click on the Members tab at the top of the page – this will take you to the competition page. All you need to do is answer a simple question and all correct entries will be take part in a draw on 14 February 2015. You can also enter the Club’s photo competition and win a holiday vouchers.

You can enter the competitions at www.ngsutravelclub.co.uk/members.

To find out how much the Travel Club can save you on your 2015 holiday call Freephone 0800 9531 263 or STD 01422 847 84 or email at enquiries@ngsutravelclub.co.uk.

Monthly Subscription Draw

NGSU members can increase their number of chances in our monthly draw at any time during their union membership. You can have a maximum of 10 chances – each chance costs just £1. Every month 75% of the draw pool is returned to members as prizes and 25% is retained to help meet the running costs of the Union. The draw is restricted to NGSU members only.

To enter the draw or increase your chances please call us on 01295 710767 or download an application form here. If you pay your Union subscriptions by salary deduction we can collect your draw subs that way too.

Prize Winners on Wednesday 5th November