Archive for the ‘Pru Section news’ Category
UKIO Members Accept Pay Offer
Wednesday, February 4th, 2015
Members have decided to accept the UKIO Pay Offer following a ballot of Unite members in UKIO.
The offer was:-
- 3% Merit Pot – with agreed distribution guidelines for managers
- Minimum FTE Income of £16,717 for London based employees (equivalent of London Living Wage) and £16,300 for employees in Reading and Craigforth
- Equal Pay Audit to be completed in Q3 2015
- Budget of 0.5% for “out of cycle” increases
The result of the ballot was:-
Accept the offer 96%
Reject the offer 4%
Turnout 38%
The increases will be effective from 1st April 2015
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UKIO Members Voting of Pay Offer
Friday, January 30th, 2015
UKIO members are currently voting on the 2015 Pay offer. The pay offer is:-
• 3% Merit Pot – with agreed distribution guidelines for managers
• Minimum FTE Salary of £16,717 for London based employees (equivalent of London Living Wage)
• Minimum FTE Salary of 16,300 for employees in Reading and Craigforth (equivalent to JRF MIS)
• Equal Pay Audit to be completed in Q3 2015
• Budget of 0.5% for “out of cycle” increases
Because we have received assurances that members who are doing their jobs will receive a minimum increase of 2% (assuming managers follow the agreed guidelines) the negotiating team are recommending members accept the offer.
Merit Pot
Members told us they wanted a pot that gave them an increase at least in line with RPI. At the time of negotiations RPI was 2% and has subsequently dropped to 1.6%. After discussions on affordability and our belief that as the top performers in the sector our employees should be rewarded with a deal that reflects that performance, the Company have offered us a pot of 3% which they said would be the highest they could go to. Therefore, the main focus of the negotiations was how the pot should be distributed being mindful of the fact that managers discretion applies.
As a result of those discussions we have agreed a distribution matrix which will form part of the managers guidelines. In accordance with those guidelines the Union would anticipate that employees should receive an increase of 2% or above if they were rated meeting/meeting or higher (ie employees are in Reward Zone C and above) and are below or within the salary range for their role.
This should mean that the majority of employees will receive an increase in excess of the current rate of RPI.
Driving up Minimum Pay
Members will be aware that Unite Prudential Section have led the way in the Finance Sector in asking for a Minimum FTE (Full Time Equivalent) Salary that is the equivalent of the Minimum Income Standard defined by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and were pleased when the Prudential declared itself a Living Wage payer. We recognise that those employees paid the least suffer most as the costs of basics increase more than RPI.
As a result of this commitment, the Minimum FTE Income for London based employees will increase to £16,717 for London based employees.
However, we were aware the National Living Wage, which under the Prudential’s Living Wage commitment would apply to employees based in Reading and Craigforth, is £14,342 and significantly beneath the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) Minimum Income Standard figure of £16,300. We therefore asked the Company to go further than it’s living wage commitment and pay UKIO staff in Reading and Craigforth the JRF Minimum Income Standard.
We are pleased to say that the Company have agreed to our request and that all UKIO staff will at least be in receipt of the Minimum Income Standard for their location before any performance related increase is applied.
Equal Pay
Unite has long been campaigning for Equal Pay within the Finance Sector as it still remains unacceptably high. Within Prudential, as a result of our relationship with the business, the UKIO has conducted regular Equal Pay audits which has addressed any pay gaps identified. The last audit was 3 years ago so we are pleased that the Company has agreed to conduct another Equal Pay audit in Q3 2015. The Company have agreed to fully consult with Unite both prior to the audit, so the scope is agreed, and after the audit so we can ensure action is taken to address any gaps that are identified.
It is worth noting that although the Equal Pay gap still exists within the Sector, as a result of the audits conducted in Prudential we don’t believe the issue is a major one but we obviously want to keep it that way.
Out of cycle increases
Finally, it is worth noting that many of our peer Companies only have a single budget for pay increases that are implemented once a year at pay review time. However, there may be times when pay for groups or individuals need to be increased in between the annual pay reviews and it would be unacceptable to delay an increase until the following review. These increases could be due to promotions, dramatic shifts in the external market rates for a particular role or a role changing and being evaluated at a higher rate. These increases are anticipated to cost around 0.5% of the current salary budget and the Company have committed to budget for these over the coming year.
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New Affiliations
Friday, December 12th, 2014
The Prudential Section have a long history of supporting bodies that help the oppresed and support justice for trade unionists and working class people wherever they live. At the last Prudential National Company Committee (NCC) members agreed to affiliate to a number of new organisations. The new organisations are:-
- Justice for Columbia
- Palestine Solidarity Campaign
- Shrewsbury 24 Campaign for Justice
- Union Solidarity International
We also continued our long standing affiliations with Action for Southern Afria (ActSA) and LabourStart.
We have added links to each of these groups in the “links” box on the right of the home screen. Please have a look at the work each of these groups do.
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Unite Launch Unpaid Hours Campaign
Monday, December 1st, 2014
Today the Unite Finance Sector launched its campaign on Unpaid Hours in the Sector. The campaign launch follows up on a survey of Finance Sector workers earlier this year.
Some of the highlights of this survey were:-
• 60% of respondents said they had to work longer hours as a result of headcount reduction
• 76% of respondents said they were told by their managers that they had to work longer than their contracted hours
• 77% of respondents said that the additional hours they worked over their contracted hours were not paid
From the results independent Survey company Survation estimated that:-
• 40% of employees have lost over £2,000 from their annual pay due to not being paid for these additional hours worked
• 20% of employees have lost over £5,000
• For every 100 people currently employed in the Finance Sector their lost earnings are equal to the work of a further 18 people.
As part of the campaign Unite have today launched an unpaid hours calculator. We would encourage anyone who works any unpaid hours (if you get overtime, flex time, time off in lieu for any additional hours work they are categorised as paid hours) to go to the calculator and enter your information.
The calculator will tell you how much pay you are losing by not being paid for these additional hours.
The link to the calculator is below:-
The Prudential Section also conducted its own survey and the key findings are as follows:-
- 95% of respondents knew what their contracted hours were
- 43% don’t monitor and record their actual hours each week
- 54% say their additional hours are unpaid
- 29% get paid overtime for additional hours
- 34% take additional hours as Time off in Lieu or Flex
- 41% say they are pressured to do additional hours
We also found that in certains pockets of the organisation managers have told employees that they work “professional hours” and therefore they have to put in as many hours as necessary to get the job done. Sadly this is becomming more and more common place.
Steve O’Donnell, Senior rep, stated “The standard Prudential full time contracted hours in our bargaining units is 35 hours a week. There are a couple of exceptions (Chauffeurs and Computer Operators) but when and why has it become acceptable for people to work longer than their contracted hours unpaid. We accept at times people will need to work longer hours but these hours need to be agreed and rewarded. There can be no excuse for employees not to be paid for the hours they work. The idea that because you are deemed to be a ‘professional’ you may have to work for free is a nonsense and a disgrace. We will be discussing this issue with the business as part of the wider campaign.”
If you want any more information on the Unite Campaign please go to the Unite website by clicking here – http://www.unitetheunion.org/how-we-help/list-of-sectors/finance-and-legal/unpaid-hours-are-not-acceptable/
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UKIO Pay Claim
Thursday, November 27th, 2014
Following extensive consultation with members Unite have submitted the 2015 pay claim to the UKIO business. This year our claim is:-
- A minimum 3.3% increase for all UKIO employees
- An additional 1.2% merit pot
- Minimum FTE Income to increase in line with the London Living Wage
Pay negotiations have now begun and we will keep you updated as these develop.
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