NGSU Rapport Spring Issue 92

Rapport THE NATIONWIDE GROUP STAFF UNION MAGAZINE

MARCH 2019 | ISSUE 92

SPEAKING UP FOR YOU HOW NGSU WORKS TO LOOK AFTER MEMBERS

TACKLING ADDICTION

JULIE ROSE’S BATTLE TO SAVE HER SON FROM DRUGS

2 92 MARCH 19

Rapport

March 2019

Rapport THE NATIONWIDE GROUP

STAFF UNION MAGAZINE

92 MARCH 2019 | ISSUE

SPEAKING UP FOR YOU HOW NGSU WORKS TO LOOK AFTER MEMBERS

TACKLING ADDICTION BATTLE JULIE ROSE’S TO SAVE HER SON FROM DRUGS

Editorial board Nicola Huddlestone, President Chris Palfrey, NEC Officer Tim Rose, Assistant General Secretary Editorial Martin Moriarty martinmoriarty@mac.com Design & production The Design Mill www.the-design-mill.co.uk Printed in the UK Banbury Litho www.banburylitho.co.uk NGSU Middleton Farmhouse, 37 Main Road, Middleton Cheney, Banbury, Oxon OX17 2QT Tel: 01295 710767 Fax: 01295 712580 ngsu@ngsu.org.uk www.ngsu.org.uk @TimPoil NGSU We use bitly URLs to convert long web addresses into shorter ones throughout the magazine.

To avoid single-use plastics, we use a biodegradable polywrap produced from potato starch.

NEC BACKS NEW FIVE-YEAR PLAN The National Executive Committee (NEC) has approved our updated strategic plan, which now covers the next five years to 2023.

We drew up the plan in order to identify what we need to do to ensure we continue to deliver a high standard of service and fulfil our purpose of protecting members’ interests at work in the face of the challenges coming in the years ahead.

“We enter the new plan period in good shape and are well placed to respond to the challenges ahead,” says General Secretary Tim Poil.

The strategic plan confirms that we will: continue to be an independent trade union; dedicate our resources to protecting the interests of our members; have no political party affiliations and not make political donations; and work in partnership with Nationwide, as long as the relationship is genuinely two-way.

The plan covers eight key elements: l We will continue to build our network of representatives and support them to help deliver services to members. l We will continue to maintain and develop our individual representation and legal services and deliver professional support to help members with issues at work. l We will continue to maintain and grow membership to ensure we have a strong voice within Nationwide. l We will maintain and develop our knowledge and expertise so we can engage in effective consultation and negotiation on behalf our members. l We will maintain and develop our range of services and benefits for members. l We will embrace new opportunities to communicate effectively with members. l We will continue to develop relationships with appropriate external bodies that have an impact on shaping the working environment. l We will manage the union’s resources effectively and efficiently.

TRIBUNAL AWARDS The limits applying to certain awards of employment tribunals and to other amounts payable under employment legislation are being increased in line with inflation from 6 April 2019.

The maximum amount of a ‘week’s pay’ — the figure that is used to calculate statutory redundancy payments, the unfair dismissal basic or additional award and payments to employees in the event of insolvency — increases from £508 to £525.

The limit on the amount of the unfair dismissal compensatory award increases from £83,682 to £86,444 or 52 weeks’ pay if less. In practice, few employees receive anywhere near this amount.

The limit on the daily amount of statutory guarantee payment increases from £28 to £29.

And the award for using unlawful inducements to undermine trade union membership, activities and collective bargaining increases from £4,059 to £4,193.

The increases apply only when the event giving rise to the entitlement to compensation or other payment occurs on or after 6 April 2019.

Where the appropriate date falls before 6 April 2019, the old limits will continue to apply.

The NGSU Travel Club are offering the chance for a member to win a fabulous Trip to Italy to experience their Prosecco Road Tour plus 20 lucky members will win bottles of Prosecco. See their leaflet in this edition of Rapport for more details or follow the link on their website https:// www.ngsutravelclub.co.uk/members

Follow the link…mbers www.ngsutravelclub.co.uk/me

WORKING FOR EQUALITY Over the past few months, we’ve been establishing a group of union reps from across the business to raise awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) and share experiences of workplace issues.

All of our Regional Councils are represented in the group and its activities are co-ordinated by National Executive Committee (NEC) members Barry Murphy and Katie Houghton. The group is able to feedback issues to the NGSU team and through Nationwide’s Employee Networks, which we featured in the last edition of Rapport.

Since Nationwide has a number of good initiatives to promote ED&I at a corporate level, it is important to understand how they are helping to improve the experiences of individual employees.

The group would welcome feedback and ideas from members.

Please contact: Katie.Houghton@nationwide.co.uk or Barry.Murphy@nationwide.co.uk

4 92 MARCH 19 NEW MUMS TO GET BETTER REDUNDANCY PROTECTION The government has issued proposals aimed at giving new mothers greater protection against redundancy.

Under current legislation, pregnant employees and new mothers have special protection against redundancy. While on maternity leave, they must be given first refusal on any suitable alternative work. Failure to comply with this regulation will give rise to an automatically unfair dismissal.

Under the new proposals, this right would be extended for up to six months after they return to work. The government is also seeking views about whether this should be extended to parents returning from adoption leave and shared parental leave. l To submit your views to the consultation before 5 April 2019, visit: https://bit.ly/2BULFic

Submit your views… https://bit.ly/2BULFic

LUKEWARM WELCOME FOR GOOD WORK PLAN The government heralded its Good Work Plan as the “largest upgrade in workers’ rights in over a generation” when it was published at the very end of last year.

The reforms were designed to deal with exploitation in the gig economy in the wake of the Taylor review into the business models of companies such as Uber, Deliveroo and Hermes. But they fail to shift the balance of power in favour of their workers, according to the TUC. The government’s measures include an end to the so-called ‘Swedish derogation’ under which agency workers could be employed on worse pay and conditions than their full-time contracted counterparts; and a right to request guaranteed hours for zero hours workers.

“Scrapping the agency worker loophole is a victory for union campaigning – it was an Undercutters’ Charter – but these reforms as a whole won’t shift the balance of power in the gig economy,” commented TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady

The government’s plan would not stop Good Work employment abuses by Plan platform companies, the tech giants like Uber, Airbnb, Deliveroo, eBay, Amazon and Facebook that operate as ‘middlemen’ helping sell products (e.g. restaurant food for Deliveroo) or services (e.g. car-hires for Uber).

“Unless unions get the right to organise and bargain for workers in places like Uber and Amazon, too many working people will continue to be treated like disposable labour,” Frances said.

“The right to request guaranteed working hours is no right all. Zero hours contract workers will have no more leverage than Oliver Twist.

And the government’s plans to introduce new laws on employment status risk unpicking important legal victories for workers and letting platform companies off the hook.”

December 2018

181214 BEIS Good Work

Plan.indd 1

14/12/2018 17:59

UNPAID OVERTIME GIVES UK COMPANIES £32BN BOOST

TACKLING CUSTOMER ABUSE More than 800 cases of Nationwide customers using unacceptable verbal and aggressive behaviour (VAB) to staff were reported last year – the majority logged by branch employees but employees working in the contact centres have also been affected.

NGSU believes that many cases are unreported and that employees are having to contend with incidents on a regular basis.

The majority of cases involve verbal abuse from customers complaining about account restrictions or other service issues. While actual cases of assault are still very rare, many staff have been threatened with physical violence.

NGSU believes staff need more training to help them recognise and deal with incidents involving customers who have mental health problems and some with alcohol and drug issues.

Revised guidance about dealing and reporting VAB cases was published on the intranet last year. This includes advice on recognising the signs of conflict and aggressive behaviour and how to minimise the risk if you feel threatened. It gives advice on what to do during an incident and sets out what support is available to employees and how to report it.

The guidance is clear that the Society will not tolerate unacceptable behaviour and sets out expected responses: for example, cases of racist and sexual harassment should result in the closure of customers’ accounts. In other cases, it may be appropriate to issue customers with warnings about their behaviour. l We strongly recommend that members in the branch network and contact centres make themselves familiar with the VAB guidance and reporting procedures. Please report all incidents to the VAB helpline on 0845 076 6425.

UK companies benefited from more than £32 billion in free labour last year through workers doing unpaid overtime, according to new analysis of official statistics by the TUC. More than 5 million people put in an average of 7.5 hours a week in unpaid overtime during 2018. On average, that’s equivalent to donating a massive £6,532 to their employers over the course of the year.

“Lots of us are willing to put in a few extra hours when it’s needed but too many employers are taking advantage,” commented TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady.

“So we’re calling for new rights to ensure that employers who break the rules on working time can be brought to employment tribunals.” l There are contractual entitlements in respect of overtime at Nationwide.

These can be found in the ‘Overtime and Additional Hours Policy’ in the Policy Point. If you work in the branch network, please refer to the Branch Network Working Arrangements Policy.

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With ever more stressed workers struggling through the nine-tofive across the UK and union reps naming stress as the number one issue in workplaces throughout the country, NGSU is working hard to combat the problem at Nationwide.

Don’t suffer in silence

M

ore and more of us are suffering from stress, anxiety and depression at work, with the latest reported figures climbing to 595,000, the fourth successive increase registered by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).

The HSE numbers were backed up by the latest TUC survey of union health and safety reps last autumn, in which 70 per cent said stress was one of the main concerns they dealt with day-to-day, alongside bullying and harassment, overwork, violence and threats and slips, trips and falls.

Little wonder, then, that NGSU Assistant General Secretary Tim Rose believes stress is now the biggest health and safety concern affecting the Society – which is why the union makes it a regular agenda item at meetings of the joint Health & Safety (H&S) Committee.

Nationwide may be a low-risk working environment when it

Have you suffered from work-related stress? Would like to share your experiences to help others? We’d like to hear about them – you can tell your story anonymously in The Forum on our website. Click the link on our homepage www.ngsu.org.uk

comes to physical safety issues, Tim points out, but that doesn’t mean NGSU members don’t face stress triggers at work.

For example, the Contact Centres experienced severe strain last year following pressure on call volumes from external factors but compounded by internal resourcing and operational issues.

In addition, a significant number of branches continue to operate at minimum resourcing levels, which can often lead to stress and wellbeing issues if employees are not able to take breaks – and the impact extends to other branches that have to provide cover.

And while the change programmes currently rolling out across the business are generally managed well, they can also lead to stress and anxiety – as can expectations to perform and frustrations with operational issues, such as reliability

of systems and complex procedures.

The latest review of absence statistics reported to the H&S Committee suggests that the Society is on track to have the highest number of mental health absences on record in this current performance year (2018/19).

But the true levels of workrelated stress at the Society may be significantly affected by mis-reporting and under-reporting, Tim points out.

“Although there has been great progress in removing the stigma attached to stress and mental health – in society in general and at Nationwide – I suspect there are some employees who are reluctant to admit to work-related stress and mental illness because they are worried about that having a negative impact on the way their ability to perform at work is perceived,” he says.

This issue isn’t just about workrelated stress, Tim adds. Stress factors in people’s personal lives, such as financial insecurity or relationship breakdown, can also impact on their performance in the workplace, which means they too should be taken into account.

However, Nationwide has done a good deal to promote mental health awareness and training and is giving greater prominence to wellbeing initiatives, Tim says.

There is also a range of support available for employees, including intranet guidance, EmployeeCare and occupational health schemes.

But much more could be done to identify the causes of stress and action taken to address the root causes.

“The HSE have identified six main areas of work-design and related issues that can effect stress levels – this provides a framework that could be used to help business areas understand the potential stressors and involve their teams in developing ways of working

APRIL IS STRESS AWARENESS MONTH Healthcare professionals and health promotion experts join forces throughout April to increase public awareness of the causes and cures of stress.

Find out more about the impact of stress on the workplace with this NHS Employers briefing: https://bit.ly/2GL2aAM

that minimise stress,” Tim says.

“We’d like to see the Society take a more targeted approach to tackling stress and conducting specific stressrelated surveys and improving the accuracy of absence data could be a good place to start. It’s something that we will continue to raise with the Society through the H&S Committee.”

I’M STRESSED AT WORK: WHAT SHOULD I DO? lT alk to your manager; your colleagues; your doctor; your union: acknowledging the issue is an important first step. lA sk to complete a stress-risk assessment to help you and your manager identity the underlying reasons and, crucially, work through potential solutions. l I t’s likely that you are not the only person suffering from work-related stress in your work group, since most work-related stress is rooted in poor job design, excessive workloads, unachievable deadlines and toxic workplace cultures – so talk to your union rep about tackling the root causes for everyone. lS eek additional support from EmployeeCare or ask for an occupational health referral. lT hink about ways to improve your general wellbeing and reduce stress: follow up the tips for everyday living on Mind’s website: https://www.mind.org.uk/informationsupport/tips-for-everyday-living/

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Tim talks

Helping you deal with change at work When change sweeps through the workplace, your union can help you face the future.

I

’ve been thinking a lot about change since hearing the news that Honda will be closing its Swindon car plant in 2021. I know we have many members in the area whose family and friends are some of the 3,500 workers directly affected by the decision – and more who work at other companies in the supply chain.

The next two years will be a very worrying period for everyone affected by the multinational company’s decision, although the creation of a taskforce to support the Honda workers and mitigate the impact of the closure on the local area is welcome.

Here at Nationwide, we have had our own fair share of change programmes over the past few years where organisational restructuring and redesign of job roles has led to redundancies (change programmes can also result in the creation of new jobs and fresh opportunities, too).

While the job losses in each programme have thankfully been low, the total number of programmes over this period has led to several hundred redundancies across the organisation.

Of course, any change programme that is likely to result in redundancies is subject to collective consultation with the union. This means we can challenge the rationale for the change and make counterproposals, where relevant.

For more info please go to our website www.ngsu.org.uk

@TimPoil Follow Tim on Twitter to keep up with what he’s thinking and doing

Where job losses are likely, we work with the business to find ways to mitigate the numbers at risk and agree fair selection processes.

We also seek to agree an approach where employees can express a preference on the options available, such as applying for new roles; taking alternative roles; or even expressing a desire to leave on severance terms.

Not all preferences can always be accommodated but when they can, the outcome is always better for the business and the employees affected.

Dealing with change is always stressful, which is why these programmes require good management, effective communication and meaningful consultation with individuals so they can understand the implications, make their counter-proposals and express their preferences.

The Job Security and Redundancy Policy we have agreed with Nationwide provides the framework to ensure that change is managed in the right way.

In the end, none of us can stop change, whether it comes from the top of Honda or the top of Nationwide. But what we can do as a union is to support our members so they can navigate change in the best possible way.

And it’s goodnight from me …

Outgoing President Nicola Huddlestone reflects on the work the union has undertaken for its members during her three-plus years in office.

A

fter three years and three months, my term of office as NGSU President comes to an end on 31 March. It has been an absolute privilege to serve as your President in this time: every day has brought new experiences and challenges and I wouldn’t change a single second of it.

In the time I have been in office, I have seen many changes. To name but a few, there has been the introduction of sabbaticals and enhancements to loyalty awards; welfare loans increased to £500; maternity/adoption leave increased to 18 weeks from April 2018 (22 weeks from April 2019); and enhancements to temporary workers’ arrangements so they receive at least the salary range minimum equivalent to the employee role.

I have also met some great people, inside and outside of Nationwide, and I’ve worked with a great team.

Everyone within NGSU works for our members – they always put our members first, dedicated to getting enhanced terms and conditions on a collective and individual level.

I’d like to say ‘Thank you’ to all the admin team at Middleton Cheney, who have put up with me; to all the Individual Case Officers (ICOs) from whom I have learned so much and whose knowledge and expertise never fail to amaze me; to Kerry, who has an uncanny superpower to

remember every rep’s name; and to Tim, Marian and Tim who lead the union – I sit in awe of the way they dedicate all their time and passion to enhancing members’ working lives.

While I am off to pastures new, I would lastly like to wish incoming President Bev Cubbon the very best of luck on her own journey and hope she finds it as rewarding as I have.

… AND HELLO, FROM BEV! After many years of active involvement with NGSU, serving as a Department Rep and a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC), Bev Cubbon has been elected as our President for a two-year term, starting on 1 April 2019.

Having worked for Nationwide for more than 30 years, Bev is a Change Consultant in the Change Practice within the Operation and Delivery Community based in Optimus House in Swindon.

A trained Disciplinary Officer, Bev has also supported many individual members over the years.

In her spare time, Bev is also an officer in the Army Cadet Force and is currently the BTEC Officer for Wiltshire as well as the Training Officer for one of the Companies.

She also spends a lot of time travelling in her converted van with her two Shih Tzus, Bosley and Daisy Duke.

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Telling the truth about addiction By telling the story of her son Scott, Julie Rose is on a mission to educate families about where drug use can lead.

W

hen NGSU member Julie Rose started to find little plastic baggies and bits of silver paper in her son Scott’s bedroom, she didn’t recognise they were clues that the 18-year-old had started using drugs.

“I was totally non-educated about drugs: I didn’t pick up on the signs quickly enough,” says Julie, who currently works parttime as a mortgage representative, after 30 years with Nationwide.

Now she is determined to help families facing similar predicaments by recounting Scott’s battle with addiction in a new book and by taking her hard-hitting message into schools through discussions with pupils about the harsh realities of drug use.

Tenacity: How Two Mums Fought A War On Drugs weaves Scott’s story into the parallel tale of his childhood friend Stephen – two boys born in the same place at the same time who both became addicted to heroin despite the best efforts of their families.

While Julie covers what happened to Scott, Stephen’s story is told through the words of his mother Marilyn Cowell, as recorded by her daughters Michelle and Sarah.

For Julie, it’s meant revisiting some very dark places along the way. “Scott

Tenacity by Julie Rose, ML and SJ Cowell is published on 1 April 2019.

You can preorder your copy for £11.99 from Amazon (as we went to press, the site was listing it incorrectly at £13.99) https:// amzn.to/2GXAKIS

was a very talented joiner, he had a great future ahead of him, but after starting with weed, he moved on to Class As and I couldn’t understand why he would choose that,” Julie says.

“As a parent, you try everything. I would ask him what I could do to make him not choose this. I’d lock him in his bedroom but he’d undo the double-glazed window and jump out. I’d be driving around at night around the streets trying to find him and bring him back.”

Twenty years ago, when Julie first realised Scott was smoking marijuana, there was very little support for parents of addicts. Julie would occasionally talk to staff at the Swindon and Wiltshire Alcohol and Drugs Service but at the time their services were focused on the addicts, rather than their families.

The lack of support only exacerbated the feeling of isolation. “It’s like you’re living their life: you feel like an addict yourself even though you’re not taking the drugs – you’re still getting into their world and it’s an ugly scene,” Julie says.

But when it came to writing the book, Julie did have support, in the

Left: Using their own experiences with family members, NGSU member Julie Rose (right) with sisters Michelle (left) and Sarah Cowell lay it on the line about the harsh realities of drug use in their new book

shape of Stephen’s sisters Sarah and Michelle Cowell, who in fact pitched her the idea six years ago.

“They phoned me and said, ‘You’ve been through hell, we’ve been through hell, we have a story to tell, let’s get it out there – shall we write a book?’,” Julie recalls.

At first, Julie was reluctant: she didn’t know if she would have the inner strength to return to the darkness of Scott’s struggle with drugs, which – despite spells in rehab and treatment centres – eventually led to devastating consequences for both young men.

But after thinking about the sisters’ suggestion, Julie decided they were right: by telling their stories, they might be able to help other parents and young people escape the horrors of addiction.

Over the three years it took the trio to complete the book, there were inevitably moments when they were plagued by self-doubt.

“There were times when I wondered why I was doing it – I was spilling my guts out and that’s not an easy thing – but in the end it has been

Follow Tenacity on Twitter @ TenacityBook

good therapy for me,” Julie says.

And working together also helped them all apply the tenacity that became the entirely apt title of the book. “The good thing was we could take on the workload between us,” Julie says. “At the same time, we had some differences about what to leave in and what to leave out but we took on each other’s opinions, we got on amazingly well and it’s all worked out.”

Keen to take their message to young people, Julie decided to ring up her local school, The Dorcan Academy, and offer to lead a drug awareness session with pupils based on her experience.

“I was dreading it beforehand but once we got there, we didn’t give them a lecture, we spoke from the heart, we didn’t sugar-coat it and they really engaged – I got such a buzz out of that,” she says.

The teachers gave them excellent feedback: they said the children responded to the trio much more positively than they would have done to a police officer and they appreciated the way the women put the family front and centre by asking the pupils hard questions about how they thought their mums, dads and siblings might feel if they fell into the clutches of addiction.

“We want to throw away the cliché that, ‘My kid wouldn’t go on drugs’ – addiction can happen to anyone: I want parents to take that away for a start,” Julie says.

“And our aim for young people would be that whenever they are in a situation where they’re tempted to use drugs, they will remember this story or this book or our talk and that could make all the difference between addiction hell or a bright future,” Julie says. “Tenacity is a massage not to be ignored.”

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How we work for you at Nationwide It’s the collective bargaining structures between NGSU and the Society that enable us to get the best deal for members. This is your guide to how it all works.

B

oth NGSU members and Nationwide benefit from the constructive partnership that the union has developed with the Society over the years, according to a new paper analysing our collective bargaining arrangements.

The briefing was our submission to the Commission on Collective Voice in the 21st Century (‘WorksForUs’), an 18-month project exploring how representation at work plays a positive role in the UK economy.

“The relationship provides us with formal and informal mechanisms to influence the working environment and ensure that the members’ interests are being fully represented at an early stage, when we are able to have a positive impact on business proposals,” the union told WorksForUs.

The key to the relationship is that both sides have different perspectives but similar interests: we work together with the Society to create the best environment for NGSU members to deliver the best service to Nationwide customers (see box).

Like any long-term relationship, the partnership between NGSU and Nationwide may have had its ups and down over the years but these days both sides have a mutual respect and trust that enables a constructive conversation about strategy and business plans that are likely to impact on employees.

At the head of the formal framework for negotiation and consultation is the Employee Involvement Committee (EIC), which generally meets once a quarter. The EIC brings together business managers and

Nationwide interests

NGSU Interests

l Increased agility and flexibility lT ransforming roles to meet business needs lA culture that underpins compliant business decisions and supports high performance lB eing the best place to work – attracting and retaining the best talent.

l Work-life balance and wellbeing lM eaningful, rewarding work with career progression and job security lS afe to speak and resolution of concerns, effective performance management lF air pay structures and enhancing core employment benefits.

union representatives to consult (and negotiate where required) on a range of employment and business issues.

Then there are two high level forums: The Joint Consultation and Negotiation Committee (JCNC) covers rewards, learning and development, pensions, wellbeing and projects that impact on employees and HR policies and procedures; while The Organisational Change Committee (OCC) is the forum for collective consultation on matters relating to change and restructuring, redundancies and contracting out.

In addition, we take part in all the Business Committees that now align with the different Communities created in the most recent restructuring; while the formal Health & Safety (H&S) Committee looks after H&S strategy and policy and oversees the H&S Forums where practical operational issues are discussed.

There is a wide range of evidence that collective bargaining and constructive employee relations at Nationwide have enabled the Society to achieve its business goals without sacrificing fair outcomes for its employees, including: l integrating four smaller building societies and selling subsidiary companies l managing outsourcing transfers l rationalising operational centres and branch closures while supporting members impacted by redundancy l revising pay and bonus structures and performance management systems l developing and enhancing a range of family-friendly policies and promoting the wellbeing agenda l supporting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) l successfully integrating ex-Carillion employees into Nationwide.

And NGSU can take credit for the key role we play in shaping the

WHAT IS WORKSFORUS? WorksForUs is the brainchild of Unions 21, the organisation that helps 23 smaller to medium-sized unions (including NGSU) increase their influence, impact and effectiveness within the world of work.

The formal name for the project is the Commission on Collective Voice in the 21st Century, which Unions 21 set up to: l identify how employees, employers and public policy-makers understand the role and scope of collective voice and bargaining l develop and promote workable mechanisms for collective voice for the 21st century.

Chaired by Baroness Margaret Prosser, the veteran labour movement organiser who rose to become deputy general secretary of the Transport & General Workers Union (now part of Unite), the project also includes 11 other commissioners from politics, business and social campaigns, including Liberal Democrat party leader Vince Cable, Labour MP Angela Eagle and three union leaders or deputy leaders. positive working environment that regularly leads to Nationwide being recognised as a good employer: the Society made The Sunday Times’ Top 25 Best Big Companies list in 2014 and 2015 and The Times’ Top 50 Employers for Women in 2016.

“The relationship between NGSU and Nationwide is not a ‘sweetheart’ arrangement and we are clear that partnership can only work if dialogue is genuinely two-way,” the union told WorksForUs. “There will be times when we openly disagree with decisions made by the business. However, the relationship does demonstrate that there are real benefits to both parties from a constructive and collaborative approach and supports the case for collective bargaining.”

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QA &

My manager has told me that I’m not allowed to report sickness absence by text – is that right?

Yes – the Sickness Absence Reporting Policy is very clear that you must phone your manager, or their deputy, to report your absence.

You should only use texts or email if you have agreed this with your manager. It is reasonable for your manager to talk to you about your absence to help them support you and make arrangements to cover your absence. Ideally you should phone before you’re due to start work; if this is not possible, then within one hour of your scheduled start time. Your manager will agree how you’ll keep in touch – when and how often will depend on individual circumstances. Failure to follow the reporting procedure could lead to a deduction in pay.

The ATM Servicing Payment is based on 15 minutes but it can take longer – can I claim overtime for the actual time it takes?

The servicing of ATMs is a standard branch task and therefore should be included in work rosters: for example, if you come in early to service ATMs, you might finish early too or take back the time on another day. If you service ATMs as planned overtime (in additional

The Sickness Absence Reporting Policy is very clear that you must phone your manager, or their deputy, to report your absence.

The Sickness Absence Policy can be found in the HR Policy Point or in the ‘Help at Work’ section of the NGSU website.

to your contracted hours), you’ll accrue TOIL and the time you get back should be the same as the overtime you’ve worked. If it’s not possible to take TOIL then you can claim an ATM servicing payment.

The ATM servicing payment is a minimum overtime payment based on 15 minutes per ATM. If it only takes 10 minutes to service an ATM you can still claim for 15 minutes. If it takes longer that 15 minutes, you should make a normal overtime claim for the full period (but claims must be made in 15 minute units).

Will I still be eligible to receive some or all of the SIS payment if I resign before the date it’s paid?

To be eligible, you must be employed by Nationwide on the Sharing in Success (SIS) payment date and not be under notice.

If you hand in your resignation before the payment date, you won’t be eligible for SIS, even if it’s paid before you leave. If you have been made redundant or taken voluntary retirement you will receive the payment provided you’ve had eligible earnings during the performance year.

T

lb x

Your performance rating will determine your annual pay review and can also be an important factor in selection processes for promotion and even redundancy. If you believe your rating is not a fair reflection of your performance you should use the Appeals Procedure – it’s too important to ignore.

Determining your rating Your rating should reflect your performance over the whole 12-month period and take into account what you’ve achieved and how you’ve gone about it (your PRIDE behaviours). Your rating should be agreed between you and your manager. If your performance warrants a high rating – that’s what you should get, regardless of the hours you work or your job level.

Reasons for an appeal You have the right to appeal if you feel your rating is unfair – reasons for this could include: l Not all aspects of your performance have been taken into account l Your rating is based on recent factors not the whole 12-month period l The rating only focuses on one element of your performance goals rather than being a holistic assessment of your performance. l You’re told that the number of higher ratings is limited l You feel you’ve been disadvantaged because of a personal characteristic.

The appeals process In the first instance, you should discuss your concerns informally with your line manager and explain why they should review their

You are entitled to be represented by NGSU at the formal appeals meetings.

We can’t guarantee to get your rating increased but we’ll help make your case to best effect. Please call us on 01295 710767 for more help and to arrange representation.

decision. If you remain unhappy you can raise a formal Stage One appeal and if necessary a Stage Two appeal. The Case Management Team should contact you to discuss who will ‘chair’ your appeal meeting. You’ll need to complete an Appeals Form and normally submit it within set timescales.

Prepare for your appeal meeting Good preparation can be the key to getting the outcome you want.

Presenting good evidence to support your case is important – make sure it’s relevant and compelling but don’t swamp the Chair with mountains of paperwork. Think about the whole year and make notes of your achievements and any additional tasks or responsibilities you carried out. Be prepared to talk about any challenges you faced but be positive and explain how you’ve succeeded despite facing some difficulties.

Be realistic Once you’ve put your case together, ask yourself if your evidence really matches the descriptor of the performance rating you want. You must be able to demonstrate why you deserve a higher rating – so challenge yourself – if you were the Chair, what would convince you to increase the rating?

Collect more evidence if necessary.

16 92 MARCH 19

CORPORATE PERKS

Polaroid Originals is a new brand from Polaroid dedicated to analog instant photography in the original, iconic format.

Did you hear?

Vintage is back!

C

apture your adventures within an instant today with The Polaroid OneStep+, a new analog instant camera that connects to your smartphone, unlocking a world of creative photography.

Use the integrated Polaroid Originals app to explore fun techniques like double exposures and light painting, take full creative control with manual mode and a remote trigger, or frame your perfect close-up with the additional portrait lens. Download the Polaroid Originals smartphone app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

Head to https://instantcamera.co.uk/ to redeem 20% off RRP on cameras, film and accessories using code NWPOL0219.

*Voucher code can only be redeemed on https://instant-camera.co.uk/ * The discount is applied at the checkout * Valid to 31/12/19

Corporate Perks is an online shopping website offering great pricing and discounts from a range of top retailers. NGSU members can register on the site, via our NGSU Extras benefit package. l WOWPoints are an online currency that you earn when you shop on Corporate Perks. 100 WOWPoints are worth £1, and you can spend them in a number of ways, including paying for shopping cards, purchasing online cinema tickets or transferring to your current account as cash. l Up to 55% off Cinema CinemaPerks gives you exclusive access to employee pricing on cinema tickets, as well as the ability to easily redeem your WOWPoints on your purchase. Save at 400+ cinemas nationwide including: Cineword; Odeon; Vue; and Empire. l Shopping Cards Save on a huge range of vouchers and gift cards for supermarkets (Sainsbury, Tesco, ASDA) department stores (John Lewis & Partners and M&S), fashion, and much more for a rewarding shopping experience. l In-Store Rewards Register a credit or debit card to your Corporate Perks account.

When you shop with this card in-store at our selected retailers, including Waitrose and Partners, you will earn WOWPoints. l Register with Corporate Perks You’ll need to register with NGSU Extras, then select the Lifestyle Benefits option and then Corporate Perks.

There are full details of how to register on our website https:// ngsu.org.uk/ngsu-extras/

18 92 MARCH 19 YOU COULD WIN UP TO £15,000!

It’s easy to enter our monthly subscription draw and give yourself a chance of winning up to £15,000.

Simply complete a prize draw form and let us know how many £1 chances you would like to buy every month (between one and ten). 75 per cent of the total paid in every month is returned in cash prizes to members, while the rest is put towards the day-to-day running of the union – helping to keep membership rates low. With around 30,000 draw entries a month, the odds are much better than the National Lottery!

Download the Monthly Draw Form: https://bit.ly/2tu17Nf or call us for more information: 01295 710767 LATEST FIRST PRIZE WINNERS FEBRUARY 2019 137834 £14,137 Matthew Brickell JANUARY 2019 109330 £14,094 Anne-Marie Umney DECEMBER 2018 098447 £14,050 Treena Noakes NOVEMBER 2018 150080 £14,015 Natasha Johnson

Swindon NH

£269,761

Total prize money won by NGSU members in 2018

Join and increase your chances today

Wakefield CC Threadneedle Street BAC

Get ready for World Book Night

W

orld Book Night is set to celebrate the joys of reading once more on Tuesday 23 April.

More than one-third of people in England alone don’t read regularly, which is why World Book Night was launched in the UK in 2011 – to help more people reap the benefits of getting the reading bug.

Reading for pleasure makes more of a difference than you might think: it is recognised across the world as a key indicator for a wide range of social issues, from poverty to poor mental health.

As part of the celebrations, many publishers donate free books to registered givers so they can offer them to people who don’t read or own books.

There are lots of useful resources to help you run an event at work on the World Book Night website: https:// worldbooknight. org/

The deadline has already passed to register for that part of the initiative this year, but there are still many ways you can get involved. l You could organise a book swap in your workplace: ask your colleagues to bring in any books they don’t want any more. l You could give away your old books, or buy a new book, to give to an organisation such as a homeless shelter. l You could take a friend who isn’t a member of the local library to join and take out a book. l You could let people know about a book by writing a Facebook post, tweeting or putting something up on Instagram – using the hashtag #WorldBookNight.

HELPING WOMEN MAKE A NEW LIFE AFTER 40

I

nspirational, Fabulous & Over 40: A Selection of Amazing Stories gathers together personal testimony from 12 different women, all but one of them aged 40-plus, who each in their own way show how it’s never too late to follow your dreams.

The inspiring collection was put together by NGSU member Claire Cahill, who started her own coaching business in her late 30s, having worked for Nationwide since leaving school in 1990.

“I think what happens is that when you get to 40, you realise you’re still only halfway through your life and you start to think about what you want to do with the second half of your life,” Claire explains.

“I decided I wanted to collaborate with other women to inspire and encourage women – whatever their age – to go out and follow their dream and achieve what they want to achieve in the latter part of their life.”

Claire hopes that everyone who reads the book will feel inspired to make a change in their own lives, just as all the contributors have overcome their own challenges, whether they be health issues, financial problems or career conundrums.

“I hope they’ll get some inspiration and they will find courage to be brave to achieve whatever it is they want to achieve in life and realise that even in the face of adversity you can achieve whatever you set your mind to – so long as you take action,” Claire says.

PRIZE WORDSEARCH

WIN

£25 voucher

One lucky winner will receive a £25 book or iBook token. Simply find the words that are all traditionally spring flowers. Completed entries should be sent to Middleton Cheney by 26 April 2019 with your name and membership number filled in below.

N J UQ GY XN QK V L DX BD OK F Z J T J F A X RM J Q MK GL

L K T Q A C O N I T E R E V E C F

R P I D E N Q U O Y M U Y H R H I

E R P A O M G K C E H V E O F Y N

U E A F N I X Y Q V O U C N G A F

M Y N F H A L Z K K U U X I C C T

ACONITE ANEMONE CAMELLIA CROCUS DAFFODIL FORSYTHIA

K Y S O Z D I R I S S N E Q Y I U

G S Y D S N O W D R O P Y P J N L

T J M I Q H E L L E B O R E G T I

A N V L B O O G R I F E D H H H P

V J F F K C A M E L L I A F D S U

HELLEBORE HYACINTHS IRIS PANSY SNOWDROP TULIP

Name Membership number

You can buy the Kindle edition on Amazon or you can order a printed copy for £10 (inc. p&p) by emailing Claire at Claire@accendocoaching.co.uk.

Please return to: NGSU, Middleton Farmhouse, 37 Main Road, Middleton Cheney, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX17 2QT

E U J S S R A N E M O N E K N M S

F O R S Y T H I A Y R S Y O C Q R

NGSU Commission Rebate Scheme Our whole-of-market Premium Comparison Service can help you (and your immediate family) quote, arrange and apply for insurance policies, such as: Mortgage protection Income protection Life assurance Critical illness cover The insurance provider will pay us commission for our work in arranging and applying for your protection policy. Due to our unique relationship with NGSU, we are delighted to be able to give you an exclusive 50% commission rebate.

Case Study: Sarah & John takes out a Legal & General Life with Critical Illness plan to protect their £150,000 mortgage. Monthly premium of £62 and they received an exclusive commission rebate of £670!

Receive an exclusive 50% rebate of all insurance commission

£501

the average rebate to members in 2018

In short, you will have peace of mind with the financial protection you need and you’ll be rewarded for doing so.

Just fill out a short online form which should only take you 3-4 minutes and leave the rest to us.

Online quotation form:

www.ifswp.co.uk/ngsu or email: info@ifswp.co.uk

Call: 020 8610 9811 Monday to Friday 9am-5.30pm

IFSWP and NGSU Commission Rebate Scheme are trading styles of IFS Wealth & Pensions Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Firm Reference No. 713063.

Registered in England No. 08699259. Registered Office: 45 Rusper Road, London N22 6RA.