Union Mail January 2016 – HR Policy Enhancements, NEC Elections, New ICO

HR Policy Enhancements

I am pleased to begin the New Year by announcing that we have agreed some enhancements to two HR policies – Personal Accident Cover and Recognising Loyalty Awards.  We have negotiated these improvements in response to issues raised by Union members as motions to our National Conference.  The changes are confirmed in the Joint Statement issued on 7 January 2016 and we’ve summarised the key points below.

We have a full agenda of items that we wish to pursue over the coming year, including advancing the discussions about future pay strategy and mechanics, concerns about performance management and calibration, the operation of secondments, maternity and shared parental leave pay, and diversity and inclusion.  I hope that we can report progress on these and other issues during the year.

Personal Accident Cover

With effect from 7 January 2016, all employees will be covered by this policy (previously only employees who joined Nationwide before June 2007 were eligible).  The cover will now be available to all employees under the age of 75 (including those who transferred from Portman, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Dunfermline building societies).

The policy provides 24 hour cover for death or serious injury resulting from an accident whether this occurs at, or outside of, work.  The amount of cover depends on the severity of injury and is up to a maximum of three times an employee’s notional salary.  The cover is separate to the death in service benefit but the maximum death related cover payable will depend on the pension scheme employees are in and is subject to a cap which is explained in the policy.

We are pleased that this important cover has been extended to all eligible employees.

Recognising Loyalty Awards

We have been talking to the Society about reviewing the recognising loyalty awards over the past 18 months.  The awards have been unchanged for many years and we believe that they need to be increased to maintain their value and meaning.

After much discussion and benchmarking, the Society has agreed to increase the value of the gift for the 10 year award from £50 to £100 and to introduce an award to recognise 50 years’ service.  These changes apply to employees reaching these service milestones on or after 1 January 2016.  We are pleased with these changes but we are continuing to talk to HR about the award structure and how these milestones can be celebrated in a meaningful way.

We’ve also agreed new guidance to ensure that the one-off additional day’s holiday given for anniversaries of 10, 20, 30 and 40 years is enough to take a full day’s holiday.  This has previously been calculated on a pro-rata basis for employees who work less than five days a week or irregular days and meant some employees were given a few hours additional holiday but not enough to take a full day.  We believe it was always the intention that employees should be given a full day off to celebrate their service achievement and are pleased that this will now be the case.

Tim Poil
General Secretary

NEC Elections

The closing date for the nomination period for National Regional Officer, Swindon 1, on the National Executive Committee, closed on 18 Dec 2015.  A single nomination has been received and I declare that Beverley Cubbon has been elected unopposed for the 2016-2017 term of office.

NGSU Individual Cases Officer – Rob Goldspink

I am delighted to announce that we have appointed Rob Goldspink to our team of Individual Cases Officers (ICOs).  Rob will be based at Optimus House in Swindon.

Rob has a long and distinguished track record with the Union, having previously undertaken the role of ICO in Nationwide House on a one year secondment and serving on the National Executive Committee for many years, including a term as President.  Rob was also recently re-elected as a Member Nominated Trustee of the Nationwide Pension Fund.

Rob takes on the ICO role following the retirement of Derek Richards.  Derek started with Nationwide in 1972 and has spent the last 12 years of his career with NGSU and has supported many Union members over that period.

We’d like to thank Derek for his fantastic work on behalf of members and wish him a long and happy retirement.

Tim Poil
General Secretary

NGSU News in Brief

Employee Involvement Committee (EIC)

The EIC oversees the relationship between Nationwide and NGSU and meets quarterly to share information and discuss issues affecting employees.  The EIC met shortly before Christmas and reviewed the interim Performance Rating distribution, the calibration process and the link between pay and performance.  These discussions will continue to feature on the EIC agenda in the months leading up to the 2016 pay review.

Joint Consultation and Negotiation Committee (JCNC)

The JCNC meets monthly and currently has a full agenda of items under discussion including the impact of new FCA/PRA conduct rules and associated policy changes, working arrangements for public holidays in 2016, the requirement to take two weeks continuous holiday and a range of issues arising from the NGSU National Conference (including maternity pay, T&Cs for temporary workers, and the operation of secondments).  Enhancements to the Personal Accident Cover and Recognising Loyalty Awards Policies were agreed.

Pay Strategy

The long standing commitment from Nationwide to conduct a full review of pay strategy, structures and mechanics has finally advanced to a stage where a Terms of Reference for the review are being worked through.  It is anticipated that the research and analysis phase of the project and development of proposals will begin shortly.

The implementation of any change is likely to be over a longer time frame.

Union Regional Councils

The first round of Regional Council meetings for 2016 will start later this month.  NGSU members are invited to submit issues for discussion to their local Union representatives.

A list of Representatives and meeting dates can be found on the NGSU website or e-mail ngsu@ngsu.org.uk for details.

Make Your Holiday Budget Go Further

The NGSU Travel Club provides fantastic travel deals and will try to beat ANY OTHER travel agent/website/Teletext deal by giving NGSU members an extra discount.

The Travel Club is operated for us by Benchmark Travel and it really is a special service – it’s only available to NGSU and two other Trade Unions who have members from former building societies.

The Travel Club provides a great personal service and can create any individual holiday arrangement, from Weddings & Hen/Stag Groups to Cruises & Worldwide Tours.

It can cater for all aspects of your holiday including car hire, hotels and airport parking.
You’ll also get advice about how to maximise your savings, tips about the destinations and support if you need help while you’re away.

Call and see how much money you can save –
0800 9531263 or 01422 847847

www.ngsutravelclub.co.uk

Benchmark Travel and is ABTA and ATOL protected.

January Draw Winners

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.