Unite has been fully cognisant of the strained economic and market factors that have affected the Bank since 2008. Throughout repeated reorganisations and redundancy exercises over more than a decade, members have understood the need to change to make the business sustainable in the long term. However, that has all come at a profound and sustained cost to employees over an extended period and consequently we make no apology for submitting a longer ASR paper than has been usual in recent years. We feel there is ground to make up, and this annual paper outlines the serious considerations that Unite would like the Bank to undertake with respect to the 2022 salary review. 

Unite welcomes the Bank’s long awaited return to profitability. It is a testament to the combined efforts of all employees over a protracted period. The 2022 annual salary review is the first opportunity for the Bank to recognise the deep and ongoing contribution of employees in bringing the organisation back into profit, as well as continuing to provide services to customers throughout the current pandemic. We therefore feel it is reasonable to expect a substantial offer above inflation on pay, and improvements in conditions in recognition of, and in recompense for, all of the above.   

The current economic climate post-Brexit and post-pandemic (almost) have led to staff shortages in many sectors, and resulting wage increases to attract staff. The Bank is vulnerable to losing staff to better paid jobs both in Finance and across other sectors, and hence we need to make employment with the Bank a more attractive proposition for both existing and future employees, in the hope of reducing attrition and enhancing recruitment.

THE TRADES UNION REQUEST

As always, we want the Bank Executive team to give serious consideration to the 2022 pay increase when undertaking the annual budget setting exercise. Specifically, we believe the following points should be given particular attention –

PAY

• Pay rises in the Bank have been constrained for a number of years, and staff have felt the effect of that. Inflation is now rising and the Bank of England forecast it to hit 4% in the next few months. Coupled with rapidly rising energy and fuel prices, and increased supply chain costs leading to higher supermarket prices, the cost of living is under real pressure. In 2022 Staff need a real, substantial and above inflation pay increase.

• Performance related pay has led to marginal differences between performance ratings for years now, and has had the effect of undermining the performance process itself. Members have felt that there is little financial incentive to go ‘above and beyond’, as the potential rewards have been minimal. So once again, in line with Unite policy we would request that any pay increase be delivered across the board for all groups of staff, at the same percentage rate.

• What is important to members is not only what they earn, but their relative position to others.  Relative worth has a direct impact on job satisfaction and staff retention. We need to reintroduce a process to move staff towards their pay reference in a reasonable time – the lack of pay minima and maxima is seriously undermining confidence and causing resentment. 

• Salaries at the start of employment may be market related, but thereafter they become solely subject to performance rises. Existing staff are very unlikely to ever close the gap on newer staff who are recruited on a higher salary. This creates a perpetual unfairness and a continuous feeling of being undervalued. The impact of this perception on performance and retention should not be underestimated. Once again, we continue to seek urgent discussions with a view to resolving this issue.

• Our members who are significantly above their pay reference, have been frustrated at not receiving a full rise for their given performance rating. As a consequence, there is little incentive to further improve their performance, which can only be detrimental to the overall performance of the Bank. Once again, we request time off equating to the remainder of the rise they would have received if they had not been constrained by their pay position.

• We believe that bonus payments must to be more generous than in recent years, and need to be used to signal increased confidence in the business going forward. Notwithstanding all of the above, we would welcome further discussions regarding future variable pay / bonus arrangements. 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS 

• Work has been undertaken on updating the Ethical Workplace and Culture section of the current Ethical Policy, however it is not yet complete. We request this be addressed in line with the detail in previous pay claims. Furthermore, we believe that demonstrable ethical employment commitments and practices represent a fundamental point of difference for the Bank, serving to reassure existing staff as well as attract future employees who value ethical awareness.



• Positive changes to sick pay entitlement / reducing the amount of time it takes to reach maximum entitlement - this has become especially important due to Covid and the impact on shorter serving staff.

• Introduction of mandatory 360 performance feedback - from an ethical standpoint, staff should be able to rate how well their managers are doing on an annual basis. At the present time performance management is mainly a ‘top down’ activity. We believe that to further improve staff engagement, increase management effectiveness and capability and further demonstrate our ethical employment commitments, an element of ‘bottom up’ assessment should be undertaken on an annual basis.   

• Increased pay transparency for Band B’s. The lack of transparency is undermining confidence.

• To demonstrate the Bank’s deep commitment to the ‘Women in Finance’ initiative, and to making the workplace increasingly friendly for women, we seek the introduction of –
• Single Parent / Carer Banked time provision (see Appendix 1) – it should be noted that we believe that such a provision would be highly valued by those that may need it, and would be a benefit in attracting and retaining staff.
• A policy or detailed guidance on the menopause – work has been ongoing on this issue, but has not yet reached its final stage.
• Provision of free sanitary products in Bank premises (for more detail, see - https://www.heygirls.co.uk/private-sector/).

• An increase in volunteering days, in line with the community values of the Bank.

• Reintroduction of Public Duty Leave, in line with the community values of the Bank.

• Reintroduction of staff loans and mortgages for the benefit of staff, and the Bank through increased business. We consider that such a provision would be highly valued by those that may use it, and would be a benefit in attracting and retaining staff as very few organisations offer this now.

• As the Bank has contracted over the past few years, the level of multi-skilling in the contact centres has increased to facilitate a reduced and more flexible workforce. Staff are now expected to be familiar with a wide range of products and systems, requiring extensive knowledge. Members are reporting to us that they are finding this increasingly stressful. Consequently, we feel that work needs to be undertaken to assess the impact of these changes, and consideration given to introducing a pay premia for multiskilling.  In addition, risk assessments need to be carried out on these roles in conjunction with Unite as part of the Bank’s duty of care to its call centre employees.

• The level of reorganisation across the Bank in the last few years has led to substantial changes in roles and workloads. We feel that a re-evaluation of all roles is overdue, and now is an appropriate time to start that work to ensure role descriptions and grades accurately reflect the work being done.

• Homeworking allowances to compensate for additional expenses incurred for those who now work from home.

• Reintroduction of the performance appeal process for half-year ratings.

• Removal of 10% cap on pay increases for internal moves.

• Increase in pension contributions.

• In addition to the usual gender pay audit, introduction of further equalities pay audits.

• Recognition of frontline staff in the Branch Network and Contact Centres continuing to attend Bank premises throughout the pandemic. In addition, Branch Network staff have continued to deal directly with customers.

All of the above combined will serve to make the Co-operative Bank an attractive employer to both existing staff and new recruits. 

Appendix 1

Single Parent / Carer banked time provision

• Unpaid time off – ability to spread the impact financially
• Optional variable working pattern - temporary part time in school holidays / full time in term time
• The ability to bank time for emergencies - up to 10 hours in reserve
• Managers should give full consideration to staff members personal circumstances when organising matters such as call out rotas and overtime to ensure that issues such as child care, particularly for single parents, are not compromised.

N.B. The above can only be invoked if the impact does not result in pay dipping below the minimum wage.