The job security appeal for a member of staff who’s refused the bank’s offer of a ‘reasonable alternative’ role is being heard by the same local HR management that is trying to force him into the role in the first place.
When it launched the new redundancy policy, the bank said it would look at a range of factors – skills, experience, job content, status and terms and conditions – when deciding whether a job was ‘reasonable’ or not. However, the extent to which the bank will consider those factors is up to local HR management and we all know that they will do whatever they are told by the business. It’s now all too clear, that the appeals process is just a rubber-stamping exercise with no protection for staff whatsoever. The so-called review of the appeals process, which Accord and Unite trumpeted in their respective communications, is nothing but a fig leaf from the bank, which will change nothing.
We’ve been here before.
Members will recall a few years ago Accord and Unite agreed to get rid of job security appeal panels because the bank didn’t like them. Under that process, a member of staff challenging the decision to make them redundant or force them into a job they didn’t want, could appeal to a panel made up of equal numbers of bank and union nominees. And the process worked, which is why the bank hated it.
Under this new policy, Accord and Unite have accepted an appeals mechanism that gives all the power to the bank. It becomes the judge and jury and because of that, Lloyds staff could see their redundancy terms slashed.
And lest we forget, Accord also agreed to scrap the 3-year pay guarantee for Lloyds staff who moved down a grade following a reorganisation. BTU negotiated that protection, which guaranteed market movement pay awards for 3 years, specifically because it would allow staff to take downgrades knowing their salary increases were protected. And the only reason Accord agreed to scrap that guarantee was because it didn’t apply to their members in Halifax.
Members with any questions on this Newsletter should contact the Union’s Advice Team on 01234 262868 (choose Option 1).
MEMBERS SHOULD PASS THIS NEWSLETTER ON TO THEIR COLLEAGUES SO THEY TOO CAN BENEFIT FROM THE ONLY INDEPENDENT TRADE UNION IN LLOYDS & HALIFAX