Lloyds has announced that it is reducing the number of Mortgage & Protection Advisors by 130 with effect from 1st October 2024. The number of Mortgage Managers is also being reduced. All told, 182 mortgage jobs will be redundant.
All Mortgage & Protection Advisors will go through a desk-top selection process and will be notified of outcomes on 20th August. Lloyds is being very cagey about how that selection process will work and what factors will be considered. It refers to “core skills” but doesn’t explain what that means. Apparently Mortgage & Protection Advisors will be able to make some input to the desk-top selection process but they are not being given any guidance about what further information is required. Whilst individual performance in the form of sales, and especially insurance cross-sales, will be a key criterion, there is a suspicion that Lloyds will use this selection process to get Mortgage & Protection Advisors working evenings rather than during the day. It’s not been even 24-hours since the announcement was made, but some Mortgage & Protection Advisors, who are currently working days, have been told that it would improve their chances of securing a role if they made it clear on the selection form that they would be prepared to change their hours of work. That kind of pressure is unacceptable.
Many Mortgage & Protection Advisors chose the ‘early riser’ shift pattern because it suited their caring responsibilities. If that choice is now going to be used to make them redundant, then Lloyds opens itself up to legal challenges. The Bank needs to set out in detail the selection criteria and weightings that will be used in the desk-top selection process. If it doesn’t produce that information, we can assume it’s using the restructuring to get rid of Mortgage Advisors with working patterns it doesn’t want.
We will be monitoring this situation very closely and won’t hesitate to take legal actions should that be necessary.
Members with any questions on this Newsletter should contact the Union’s Advice Team on 01234 262868 (choose Option 1).
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