Unite TUPE update w/c 13 August 2018

Monday, August 20th, 2018

TUPE and Diligenta

We have now concluded our 4^th consultation meeting which took place on Thursday 9^th August in Craigforth.

Following on from our previous emails, the situation as it stands is:

What do we now know: 

Reading Location – all in scope individuals will move to Kennet Place (Building A) after 1 October 2018.

Performance Management – we have reviewed the Diligenta’s Performance Management process and Diligenta also shared their manager’s guidelines for salary increases and promotions. We are very comfortable with both the performance management process and the guidelines.

Professional Qualifications and Study Policy – we are very comfortable with the examples of qualification that were shared with us last week and the policy is very similar to the Prudential policy.

Absence Management – we have reviewed the current policy and are comfortable with this. Diligenta are currently reviewing this policy and this will be shared with us once it has been updated.

Time off when you need it – we are pleased that Diligenta have now confirmed that where an individual is undertaking IVF treatment then that individual can take up to 14 days paid leave in a 12 month period. This is similar to the current Prudential policy.

Flexitime Policy – for those areas where flexitime is still used then this will move across to Diligenta however,  they will review this in the future to ensure that it’s fit for purpose and their business.

Holidays – any extra days you buy will be deducted from gross pay. Although Diligenta do not operate salary sacrifice for bought holidays there should be no financial detriment to individuals.

Car Parking

Reading – individuals who currently have a permanent space including those with a Blue Badge, will continue to have this post 1 October 2018 (the allocated space may change). Diligenta will review the car parking policy once they know how many spaces they have and who in the TUPE population are eligible to be on the waiting list under the current Reading parking policy. We have suggested that although not an ideal system the current way of allocating spaces is the fairest it can be and would like to see this continued.

Craigforth – there will be no changes to parking or the buses post 1 October 2018.

Prudential Staff Discounts – the opportunity to open an M&G ISA with a waiver on the initial charge will continue for a further 6 months to 31 March 2019 – you can use the following link for more information and it is the easiest way for you to  open one prior to transfer with only £1: (http://intranet.pru.local/homepage_content/prudential_uk_news/2018_quarter_one/february/mandg_isa_allowance/?view=Standard&gsasro=3&gsaq=M%26G%20Isa)  

Final Salary (DB) Scheme

Final Prudential/Diligenta proposal for DB (Prudential & Scot Am) members (9 August 2018):

During the meeting we spoke directly to Roddy and highlighted the feelings of being let down by Prudential despite loyalty to the Company and length of service. We did request an extra year of tapering for DB members but unfortunately this has been rejected. We do know that in fairness to all employees there will not be an option to add extra years to the DB scheme for those members, we are disappointed but understand the rationale for this and also the final DC offering for DB members.  This is a better outcome for all our members than other areas  e.g. Capita, PGDS who have gone through the TUPE process recently and although not ideal does show movement from the original Prudential and Diligenta position especially in light of TUPE legislation.

We do understand this will be disappointing to some members but we are comfortable with this and that all members (whether DC or DB) have got the best outcome.

Diligenta will be holding numerous pension workshops in conjunction with Aviva in all locations in August and September so it is important that those individuals in scope to transfer attend and gain a better insight into their DC scheme, including how you can manage the fund(s) where the Diligenta (and your own) contributions will be invested in.

Sharesave – all in scope individuals will receive a payment of £250 (less tax & NI) on the anniversary of their move to Diligenta – 1 October 2019. This is in respect of removing the opportunity to take part in future sharesaves. This is Prudential and Diligenta’s final position however in view of the feedback received from members regarding the level of compensation and the delay in receiving this payment we have asked that this is made earlier than 1 October 2019. We will update you when we receive a response.

IBIS Lottery & IBIS Club – Diligenta have confirmed that they won’t be able to deduct these payments from your salary after 1 October. If you wish to continue with your IBIS membership then please print and complete the attached direct debit mandate and return to the IBIS Club.  For those wishing to continue with the lottery, please print & complete the IBIS Prize Draw Application Form. You can then scan and send to  prize_draw@btconnect.com.

Next Steps

As this is peak holiday time with a number of reps and Unite officers on holiday we will arrange a members meeting in the coming weeks but this may not be until w/c 28 August.

If you have any questions in the meantime then please contact Unite@prudential.co.uk.

Thanks

Claire Williams

Ellen Looby

Jan Ciepkiewicz

Posted in Diligenta & TCS TUPE, Pru Section news | Comments Off on Unite TUPE update w/c 13 August 2018

Consultation Update – W/C 16 July

Wednesday, July 18th, 2018

TUPE and Diligenta

On Friday we visited the Diligenta office in Peterborough for our consultation meeting. We received a tour of the office and also got the opportunity to question some individuals who have undergone a TUPE and those that joined Diligenta separately. We took some real positives from those individuals and the key for us is that they all felt they were rewarded fairly for what they do.

Following on from our previous email, the situation as it stands is:

What do we now know:

Salary Increases – The Diligenta approach is to award an across the board increase for all employees following negotiation with Unite. It has been confirmed that there is also a pot to award increases throughout the year to reward performance and address anomalies. The bonus (where payable) will also be used to reward individual performance.

Prudential Bonus 2018 – we have agreed that the half year rating should apply. However, where an individual has been rated lower than meeting a review of these individuals performance will be undertaken prior to 1 October to ensure that if that individual ‘would’ be meeting/meeting by year end then the rating may be changed accordingly. Following conversations regarding this element – we are comfortable with this approach.

Prudential Staff Discounts – these will cease on transfer to Diligenta on 1 October 2018. However, following our request, the opportunity to open an M&G ISA with a waiver on the initial charge will continue for a further 6 months to 31 March 2019 – you can use the following link for more information and it is the easiest way for you to  open one prior to transfer with only £1: (http://intranet.pru.local/homepage_content/prudential_uk_news/2018_quarter_one/february/mandg_isa_allowance/?view=Standard&gsasro=3&gsaq=M%26G%20Isa)  

Carers Policy – we are very disappointed that Diligenta don’t currently have this in place however their Compassionate & Dependants Leave policies can be used for this purpose.  They have no plans at this time to introduce one, but post transfer, Unite reps will make this an agenda item to discuss further with Diligenta.

Final Salary (DB) Scheme – Diligenta initially offered a 12% non-contributory DC scheme for the transferring DB members. We were encouraged by the non-contributory element however the proposed employer contribution was not acceptable. We submitted counter proposals to both Diligenta and Prudential as follows:

Unite Counter Proposal to Diligenta

These individuals are losing approximately 25% of their current total reward with no certainty that a DC fund will perform anywhere near as well as their DB pension.  In view of the significant financial detriment , long service and loyalty to those individuals in the DB scheme transferring to Diligenta, we would like to propose the following:

24% non-contributory DC scheme

This population will be key in ensuring a smooth transition following the transfer to Diligenta as their skills and knowledge need to be retained and also, you will have a reasonably happy workforce. This would mitigate the risk of these individuals leaving as the ‘golden handcuffs’ have been removed.

Unite Counter Proposal to Prudential

•  Additional years DB contributions added to their DB pension (based on their final Prudential salary) to offset the loss of the scheme to paid by Prudential, plus the Diligenta DC non-contributory scheme.
• Removal of the reduction in accrued benefits if DB pension is taken early e.g. 55.

 
Revised Diligenta Proposal (4^th July 2018)

1 October 2018 – 30 September 2020      14% Employer Contribution

1 October 2020 onwards                             12% Employer Contribution plus 1% if you make a contribution of 3% or more = 13% Employer Contribution & 3% Employee Contribution

Further Revised Prudential/Diligenta proposal for DB (Prudential & Scot Am) members (13^th July 2018):

It is important to note that this is being fully funded by Prudential whereas the previous proposal from Diligenta was only 50% funded by Prudential. We do know that our proposal to add extra years into the DB (Prudential & Scot Am) scheme and removing the early retirement reduction was taken seriously.

We will discuss the revised offer from Prudential and Diligenta in our members meeting and this may form part of a separate communication.

Sharesave – all in scope individuals will receive a payment of £250 (less tax & NI) on the anniversary of their move to Diligenta – 1 October 2019. This is in respect of removing the opportunity to take part in future sharesaves.

Long Service Awards – We are really pleased that at our request, Prudential has confirmed that those individuals who have achieved 35 years’ service but have yet to reach 40 years with Prudential will receive the Diligenta long service award of £350 (vouchers) on the 1^st anniversary of their move to Diligenta – 1 October 2019.

Next Steps

There is a members meeting TODAY at 3.30pm in The Avenue and our Unite Regional Officer, Ian Methven will be in attendance. For those not able to attend, we can also be collate your feedback on the revised DB (Prudential & Scot Am) proposal by email to Unite@prudential.co.uk.

For those in the retained part of CS&I or Wealth, we will also be available to listen to any concerns or issues you wish to raise regarding the processes you are going through.

If you are unable to attend the members meetings, are not based in Reading or have any questions then please contact Unite@prudential.co.uk.

Thanks

Claire Williams
Ellen Looby
Jan Ciepkiewicz

Posted in Diligenta & TCS TUPE, Pru Section news | Comments Off on Consultation Update – W/C 16 July

Consultation Update – W/C 2 July

Wednesday, July 18th, 2018

TUPE and Diligenta

We have taken part in a further consultation meeting this week and we have had enough assurances from Diligenta and Prudential to close discussions on a number of the proposed terms and conditions.  This is because what you have now will be what you continue to enjoy post transfer to Diligenta.  We have also reviewed a large number of the Diligenta policies in depth and have queried some elements. These will be discussed in the upcoming meetings.

Following on from our previous email, the situation as it stands is:

What do we now know:

PFP Advice – individuals will be able to take advantage of the free PFP advice for 6 months following the Service Commencement Date – taking availability up until 31 March 2019. We are pleased that Prudential have made this commitment to those individuals going through the transfer.

Holiday – we are pleased the core holiday allowance will increase to 23 days with the option to buy up to a further 10 days. Diligenta will add the 5% (non-pensionable allowance) flex fund to your salary and then deduct the amount of holiday bought from that.  This means that even if you chose to buy the maximum 10 days, you will not use your whole 5% and so will see this reflected in your monthly pay.

Season Ticket Loans – this will apply to car parks. Also because Diligenta do not currently operate a cycle to work scheme they have confirmed that you can use this to pay for the bike you purchased under the Prudential cycle to work scheme.

Movement of Roles (redeployment) – we are really pleased that should you move to a new position in the Prudential account or are redeployed (in a redundancy situation) to any other Diligenta account there will be NO changes to the terms & conditions (including redundancy terms & length of service) you transfer with on 1 October (or later depending on consultation progress).

In addition, Diligenta have confirmed that should you wish to apply for a role on another Diligenta account you WILL retain your redundancy terms and length of service but you will move to the standard Diligenta terms including the Company’s percentage pension contribution at that time.  

However, Diligenta have confirmed that where a shortfall exists between your own and their contributions to your pension then Diligenta WILL pay the difference as an equal non-pensionable allowance, paid monthly in your salary. You can choose whether to invest this back into your Diligenta pension. This also applies to any movement of roles to TCS (redeployment or voluntary) however you would move to the TCS equivalent terms, conditions and pension.

We welcome this concession which we hope will reassure the transferring population that their terms & conditions have some protection.

Defined Contribution (DC) Scheme –Diligenta have confirmed that this will be an exact replica of the Prudential scheme which includes the pension plus arrangement.

Final Salary (DB) Scheme – Diligenta initially offered a 12% non-contributory DC scheme for the transferring DB members. We were encouraged by the non-contributory element however the proposed employer contribution was not acceptable. We submitted counter proposals to both Diligenta and Prudential as follows:

Unite Counter Proposal to Diligenta

These individuals are losing approximately 25% of their current total reward with no certainty that a DC fund will perform anywhere near as well as their DB pension.  In view of the significant financial detriment , long service and loyalty to those individuals in the DB scheme transferring to Diligenta, we would like to propose the following:

24% non-contributory DC scheme

This population will be key in ensuring a smooth transition following the transfer to Diligenta as their skills and knowledge need to be retained and also, you will have a reasonably happy workforce. This would mitigate the risk of these individuals leaving as the ‘golden handcuffs’ have been removed.

Unite Counter Proposal to Prudential – this is still being actively pursued but there has been no response as yet and it is being looked into seriously by the Company.

• Additional years DB contributions added to their DB pension (based on their final Prudential salary) to offset the loss of the scheme to paid by Prudential, plus the Diligenta DC non-contributory scheme.
• Removal of the reduction in accrued benefits if DB pension is taken early e.g. 55.

Revised Diligenta Proposal

1 October 2018 – 30 September 2020      14% Employer Contribution

1 October 2020 onwards                               12% Employer Contribution plus 1% if you make a contribution of 3% or more = 13% Employer Contribution & 3% Employee Contribution

This is the position as it stands but we will be challenging this and we will arrange a members meeting to discuss. We are waiting for a response to our counter proposal to Prudential and a members meeting prior to submitting a formal counter to Diligenta.

Sharesave – on your behalf, we requested to see whether it would be possible (for those individuals that want to) to deduct 2 payments in September from pay for the plans maturing this year.  Unfortunately, neither the plan rules or HMRC will allow this and so the last payment will need to be made by you independently.  We have requested some form of compensation for those with sharesaves maturing in 2019 & 2020 and this is part of the ongoing discussions.

Long Service Awards – Prudential has confirmed that those individuals achieving a significant anniversary (20,30 or 40 years) in October, November and December this year will receive the Prudential award prior to transfer to Diligenta. They have also confirmed that anyone with a long service anniversary in 2018 will be invited to the celebration event. We still have an outstanding request for those approaching a 40 year anniversary.

Next Steps
Our next consultation is on Friday 13^th July and it will be at the Diligenta site in Peterborough. As well as continuing talks on outstanding items, we will have the opportunity to speak to current employees and look at some of the proposed digital offering being worked on for Prudential.

We will be arranging a members meeting for w/c 16^th July and our Unite Regional Officer, Ian Methven will be in attendance.

If you are unable to attend the members meetings, are not based in Reading or have any questions then please contact Unite@prudential.co.uk.

Thanks

Claire Williams
Ellen Looby
Jan Ciepkiewicz

Posted in Diligenta & TCS TUPE, Pru Section news | Comments Off on Consultation Update – W/C 2 July

Consultation Update w/c 25th June 2018

Friday, June 29th, 2018

Retained Organisation – CS&I and Wealth Solutions
We started consultations on these elements of the transformation on Monday with Gillian Nimmo and Katie Page. Thank you to those of you that have raised concerns either at our drop in sessions, members meeting or via email. We have been passing these on as part of the consultation process and will continue to do so as they come to us.

Wealth Solutions
Nicola Sartorius provided the group with an overview of the rationale for the changes in Wealth Solutions as well as explaining how the new teams will work. We understand why the changes are being made and can see the logic behind the restructure. We are pleased that there are more roles available in the new structure than individuals being placed at risk of redundancy and that those employees have opportunities to express interest in multiple positions within the new configuration.

One other element of interest is the introduction of technical roles at Grade 3 and 4. In the past, these have not been available and individuals who wish to progress their careers would have needed to take on line management responsibilities as part of a Grade 3 or 4. This should offer greater opportunities to individuals who might otherwise have sought opportunities outside of the Company for them.

Following a request from Unite, roles that are not filled by at-risk employees through the selection process will be advertised internally from Thursday 28 June prior to external advertisements being made on
Wednesday 4 July. Applications from internal colleagues will be accessed in the same way and following the same timeline as those of external candidates. We did ask for a full selection process to be run for internal candidates ahead of external publication but this was something Prudential couldn’t accommodate.

CS&I
Rose Little, Vinay Jha and Colin Adams provided clarity on the proposed changes within CS&I. In summary, a transformation is needed to create a better fit for the business to support the TUPE of roles to Diligenta. We are comfortable with the rationale provided, and as with Wealth Solutions, we are pleased to see that there will be more roles available in the new structure than are being placed at risk.

All of the new roles in the new CS&I structure have been advertised on the Taleo job board. Anyone who is at risk of redundancy should ensure they tick the appropriate box on their application to show that they are at risk of redundancy when applying, so that their application is prioritised.
Those who are at risk of redundancy who wish to preference redundancy should complete the expression of interest form and submit it to the mailbox by 29th June.

Those who are at risk and in a pool within Solution architecture must ensure they have completed the assessment form, even if they wish to express an interest in redundancy, and submit to the mailbox by 29th June (csi.transformation@prudential.co.uk).

If you have any questions on the process or where to download forms these can be sent to the same mailbox and will be answered as soon as possible.
TUPE and Diligenta

We have reviewed all the Terms and Conditions proposed by Diligenta at a high level. Following our assessment, we have requested a number of their people policies to review in depth prior to the next consultation meeting on 4 July.

Thank you for all your questions, concerns and suggestions – we have raised them with Prudential/Diligenta as appropriate and will continue raise any that come to us during the consultations.

We will be holding another drop-in session on Thursday 28th June from 9.00 – 15:00 in BG:02. Feel free to pop in at any point on this day to ask questions, raise concerns or make suggestions.

We have arranged another members meeting for Monday 2nd July at 12.30 in The Avenue, Reading.

If you are unable to attend the drop in sessions, members meetings or have any questions then please contact Unite@prudential.co.uk

Thanks

Claire Williams
Ellen Looby
Jan Ciepkiewicz

Posted in Diligenta & TCS TUPE, Pru Section news | Comments Off on Consultation Update w/c 25th June 2018

Update on Consultations

Friday, June 22nd, 2018

TUPE and Diligenta

We have now concluded the first 2 days of the consultation process and we have seen a high level view of the terms & conditions Diligenta are proposing. We are comfortable with a lot of these as they provide either no change or an increase to what you enjoy currently.  We will be looking at the T&C offering and Diligenta’s policies in more depth over the next 2 weeks to ensure that where there are changes, we will review and challenge (where appropriate) in the upcoming consultation meetings.

Following on from our previous email, the situation as it stands is:

What do we now know:

Redundancy terms – we are happy that Prudential redundancy terms will be transferred and preserved on promotions or redeployment within Diligenta. As the business transformation and migration plans to BaNCS mature, there may be more visibility of dates and timelines for changes.

Holiday – although Diligenta do not operate a flexible benefits programme, they have committed to the 5% flex allowance continuing and also for the option to buy more holidays up to a maximum of 33 days. The key difference is that once you have set the number of days you would like then this will continue for the length of your employment. If you have a significant life event , then it will be possible to flex the number of days following a discussion with your manager.

Bonus – you will receive a Prudential bonus (if it’s payable & you are eligible as usual) for January – September 2018, this will be paid in March 2019. You will then receive the Diligenta bonus (if it’s payable & you are eligible) for October 2018 – March 2019, this will be paid in June 2019. For 2019 and beyond, any bonus will be paid in June each year.  We are comfortable with the proposed bonus structure and confirm there will be no business multiplier in the Diligenta bonus scheme.

Pay Dates – This has been confirmed that it will be 25^th  as it is now so there is no change.

Unite recognition – Collective recognition will be transferred to Diligenta on the same basis as it exists in Prudential. If you are in Reading, you can join Unite to ensure you are fully recognised under the transfer and for those in Craigforth, you are still welcome (as always) to join and benefit from individual representation.

Defined Contribution (DC) Scheme – the Diligenta DC contributions are the same as the current Prudential DC scheme (6% employer + up to 6% matching employee contribution – max 12% employer contribution) .

Final Salary (DB) Scheme – Proposal for a non-contributory DC scheme has been put forward. This will be a key part of the consultations and will be asking for your thoughts over the next 2 weeks so please let us know if there is anything we should consider to represent you.  We have raised a lot of concerns already regarding this aspect and will look to get the best outcome we can.

Going forward:

We will communicate with our members regularly with any updates by email, drop in sessions and members meetings.

Retained Organisation – CS&I and Wealth:

We start consultations on this element of the transformation on Monday 25^th June, thank you to those of you that have raised concerns and we will raise these as part of the consultation process. As with the TUPE consultations, we will be representing your interests and communicating regularly.

We have arranged another day for you to just come along & have a chat – we will be in BG02 between 9am and 3pm on Thursday 28^th June.  We have also arranged another members meeting for Monday 2^nd July at 12.30 in The Avenue, Reading.

If you are unable to attend the drop in sessions, members meetings or have any questions then please contact Unite@prudential.co.uk.

Please feel free to pass this on to your colleagues and friends who may not be members – an application form and benefit summary are attached should non-members wish to sign up.  Please return these to either Jan Ciepkiewicz (2C) or myself (3B) 121 Kings Road.

Thanks

Claire Williams
Ellen Looby
Jan Ciepkiewicz

Posted in Diligenta & TCS TUPE, Pru Section news | Comments Off on Update on Consultations