Union Mail – September 2015 – Conference Motions Amendments, Rep of the Year, Bring Your Own Device Policy, Race at Work Survey

Conference Motions 2015 – Amendments

The deadline for submitting motions for Conference 2015 has now closed.

All of the motions submitted have been checked to ensure they comply with the Union’s Rules and a full list of valid motions to be debated at Conference is available to view on our website – www.ngsu.org.uk/aboutus/conference.

Union members are now invited to propose amendments to these motions.  An amendment can seek to provide additional clarity to the objectives of the motion or to develop the motion to include other relevant points.  However, an amendment cannot fundamentally change or reverse the meaning of the motion.

If you would like to propose an amendment please send an email to ngsu@ngsu.org.uk stating the motion reference number, your amendment and how the amended motion should read.  The closing date to submit amendments is 16 September 2015.  If you have any queries regarding the amendment process please call Tim Rose, Assistant General Secretary (Services), on 01295 710767.

A final list of motions, together with any proposed amendments, will be published on our website by the end of September 2015.

The motions will be debated by delegates attending Conference over 12-13 October.  Motions which are passed with a 2/3rds majority become Union policy.

A Wide Range of Issues

We have received around 60 Conference motions covering a wide range of topics including issues about pay, performance management, work-life balance, working arrangements and staff resourcing in the branch network.

In advance of Conference, we will be holding Regional Council meetings with Union Reps.  Please contact your local Rep if you have any issues that you would like to be raised at the Regional Council meeting or that will help to inform the debate at Conference.

Rep of the Year 2015

There is still an opportunity to submit nominations for NGSU Rep of the Year to recognise the work Representatives do on behalf of the Union members in their business area.  The award will be presented to the winner at the National Conference.

If you’d like to nominate your local Rep please send an email to ngsu@ngsu.org.uk telling us who you’d like to nominate and why, or submit your nomination online at www.ngsu.org.uk/about-us/conference.

Tim Poil
General Secretary

Bring Your Own Device Policy

The Society has formally launched its ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) to work Policy – as announced in the Joint Statement issued on 14 August 2015.  The scheme enables eligible employees – only employees in certain business areas are eligible to participate – to bring their personal smartphone or tablet to work and access their Nationwide emails, calendars and contacts via a third party app.

The scheme is entirely voluntary but is subject to a ‘Terms of Use’ agreement.  We recommend that members who are considering applying to join the scheme read these ‘Terms’ very carefully.  In particular, employees should note that they will be responsible for all costs associated with the device, including business use, and therefore it is important to check that the likely combined private and business usage will fall within your tariff agreement.  There is only limited insurance cover available if the device is damaged or lost while at work – it will be necessary to prove that Nationwide was responsible for the damage for a claim to be met by the Society.

We’d like to remind employees not participating in the scheme that their use of personal devices at work is still subject to the restrictions and conditions set out in the Communications and Privacy Policy, which is available from the HR Policy Point on the Intranet or the NGSU website.

Tim Poil
General Secretary

Race at Work Survey 2015

Race for Opportunity (working with YouGov) is currently running a survey to provide insight to the working lives of people in the UK.  It promises to be the biggest survey of its kind in the UK and results will be widely published.  Nationwide is co-sponsoring the survey along with a number of other major organisations.

The survey is published online at www.raceatwork.co.uk and is open until Sunday 13 September 2015.  The survey takes about 13 minutes to complete, and is open to all UK workers.

Intranet Transformation – Profile Pictures

As members will have seen, their individual profile page on the revised intranet will now include a photograph.  Initially, those employees who have a photograph on a security pass will have this automatically loaded into their profile.

We would like to remind members that having a photograph on their profile page is not compulsory and everyone is free to change their photo or delete it and leave it blank.  There are no exceptions to this rule and no business area has discretion to make this mandatory.

Branch Security Manual

We would like to remind all branch employees of the importance of reading the Branch Security Manual and ensuring that operating arrangements in the branch comply with the security instructions.  Fortunately security incidents are rare but they still occur and therefore it is very important that that all procedures are followed correctly and are not compromised by pressures on staff resources.

The Branch Security Manual can be found on the Intranet.  We recommend that employees make themselves familiar with the ‘Entry and Exit’ and ‘Employee on View’ requirements.  We’d also remind employees in branches with rising screens to read and comply with the specific instructions that exist for these branches.  These can be found in the ‘Screens and Doors’ section of the manual.

NGSU Travel Club

Are you just back from your summer holiday and thinking about your next break or planning a last minute getaway?  Why not check out the Travel Club website (www.ngsutravelclub.co.uk) for some inspiration about your next holiday destination?  There are loads of great ideas, special offers and late deals, and exclusive competitions for NGSU members – currently you can win a meal for two by sending in a photo of your favourite holiday meal.

The NGSU Travel Club will try to beat any other price on the market for your travel arrangements.  You must ring the Travel Club and tell them you’re an NGSU member to get access to the best deals.  Call on 0800 9531 263 or 01422 847 847.

The NGSU Travel Club is operated by Benchmark Travel – ABTA J8828.

September Draw Winners

First Prize  :  £12,503
077723  :  Sarah O’Neill – Sunderland branch
Second Prize  :  £5,000
109028  :  Michelle Thompson – Telephone Sales (Wakefield)
Third Prize  :  £2,000
135796  :  Karen Anderson – Jura (Scotland Admin Centre)
Fourth Prizes  :  £500
134151  :  Carla Chudley – Risk & Governance (NAC)
127950  :  Wendy Childs – Northampton (St James Square)
133482  :  Lauren James – Aylesbury branch

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 email us at ngsu@ngsu.org.uk, call us on 01295 710767 or download an application form from our website.

If you pay your Union subscriptions by salary deduction we can collect your draw subscriptions that way too.

Please ensure we have your correct contact details on file so that we can let you know the good news!  Please visit www.ngsu.org.uk to edit your details.