Temporary Relocation of Employees in Swindon, NAC

The Society has announced today that it will be relocating employees into Nationwide House from three other sites in Swindon. The plans will see employees currently working in Wakefield House, Pegasus House, and Optimus House relocate, with the moves starting around the end of the month for Wakefield House, and from around mid-September, following consultation, for Optimus and Pegasus. The current occupancy of all sites is very low and so it makes sense to secure the running costs savings by moving everyone into the one building.

We have been in consultation with the Society about the moves and have discussed the health & safety implications and the need to ensure Nationwide House remains covid-secure. Nationwide House can safely accommodate around 1200 employees and it is expected that occupancy will be around 700 after all employees have relocated – so still well within safe limits and in accordance with the Admin Centre risk assessment and ‘playbook’. The building will retain some capacity for other employees who need to work from Nationwide premises rather than from home on an ad hoc basis. It’s hoped that bringing more people into the one building will also help to address some of the concerns expressed about the buildings being like “ghost towns”, and provide more of a sense of community.

Employees who are relocating from Pegasus and Optimus will enter a 30-day consultation period and will be able to discuss any personal implications, such as child care or travel arrangements, with their manager. NGSU reps are available to help members and collect feedback about the proposed move and we’ll continue to work with the business to address any issues that are of concern. As Wakefield House is very close to Nationwide House, there won’t be a formal consultation period, but there will still be the opportunity to give feedback and discuss any issues.

There will also be a temporary closure of part of the ‘South’ building in Northampton Administration Centre (NAC), with employees moving into the ‘North’ building.

We have been assured that these are temporary moves and take into account the number of employees who are currently working from home and who will continue to do so into the New Year. However, we expect that there will be further discussion about how to use Nationwide premises effectively and we anticipate that there will be moves to use the space more creatively to support different ways of working. This would fit with more dynamic working, with more choice for employees to work from home and come into workspaces for social interaction, collaborative meetings and other events. We are not aware of any definitive plans but there is no doubt that ways of working will change and evolve in the future, and we will work with the Society to ensure that members’ needs and interests are at the forefront of people’s minds in such conversations.

We are also working with the Society to consider a range of issues arising from homeworking. A number of members have already contacted us about increasing utility costs, particularly when looking ahead to the Winter months, and we have highlighted this as a topic for discussion.

If you’re impacted by the proposed relocation and need support, please contact your local NGSU Rep (see list below). If you need help or support in respect of any of change programmes that have been recently announced across a number of communities, please call us on 01295 710767 or e-mail us at ngsu@ngsu.org.uk.

Reps for Swindon constituencies
Reps for Northampton constituencies