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.

Posted in Pay, Pru Section news | Comments Off on UKIO Members Voting of Pay Offer