POL: Crown Office Sales Incentive Scheme – Joint Statement

[POSTMAN]

Dear Colleagues



POL: Crown Office Sales Incentive Scheme – Joint Statement

Branches are advised that unfortunately, due to events beyond the control of the Union, an error in relation to sales data has occurred which has implications on bonus payments arising from the Sales Incentive Scheme. This situation is due to the Bank of Ireland providing incorrect information to POL regarding Growth Bond sales. In essence, the sales data provided by Bank of Ireland combined the Growth Bond retention sales with actual Crown Office sales, which resulted in an overstatement of sales performance contained within the weekly sales report to Crown Offices.

Once the Bank of Ireland’s mistake came to light, in keeping with the spirit of the Sales Incentive Scheme agreement, POL approached the CWU for our input on how best to rectify and communicate the situation. Due to the scale of the overstatement (approximately £150,000 in extra bonus payments affecting 168 Crowns), POL’s position was that it was unable to pay the additional bonus monies for sales not actually achieved.

It was, however, strongly argued that our members would be expecting bonus payments for Q2 to be based on the weekly sales reports sent to each Crown Office which included the inflated figures. This information would be displayed on the Tracker and available for all to see. The Union’s position was therefore that our members should not have to bear the consequences of an administrative error and receive a reduced bonus at this stage.

Following further discussions, it was agreed that the overpayment of bonuses would not be rectified in this quarter and that the necessary claw-back would be deferred until Q3’s bonus payments. Consequently, the good news is that Q2 bonus payments will be based on the overstated sales figures. As a result, POL will pay, in Q2, approximately £150,000 more in bonuses than it would have paid had the sales data from the Bank of Ireland been correct. It is anticipated that Crown Offices will receive confirmation of Q2 bonus payments during the week commencing 12th October.

POL will be writing to the 168 Crowns affected during week commencing 5th October in order to provide details of the overpayments made and the claw-back arrangements from Q3.

In view of these circumstances, it was deemed necessary to publish the following Joint Statement:



Joint Statement on Sales Incentive Scheme – 2009/10



We are sorry to report that an error has been identified in Growth Bond sales data. This means 168 Crown branches have been credited with sales they have not made and consequently this impacts on the bonus payments that may have been anticipated.



This problem was caused by the Bank of Ireland supplying incorrect sales data that amalgamated Growth Bond retention sales with actual branch sales. This in effect inflated some branches sales figures, something you may have noticed in your weekly report. The inaccuracy of data is being addressed at a senior level across Post Office, Bank of Ireland and Post Office Financial Services to avoid any repetition in the future.



The overstating of the Growth Bond sales would equate to approximately £150,000 in extra bonus payments being made for non existent sales. We hope you appreciate that to reward some branches for sales that have not been made would be inappropriate. However, as we are near the end of the quarter, Post Office and CWU have agreed that Q2 payments will be paid as planned including the element attributable to the inflated Growth Bond sales. The claw-back of overpayments will therefore be deferred until Q3 when the overpayment figure will be deducted from bonus payments where appropriate.

The decision not to pay for sales not made fits with the scheme principle to provide the right reward for good sales performances. To do otherwise would be unfair for all others not affected by the error.

How you will know if you are affected

We will be writing to all affected branches w/c 05 October detailing the overpayment for Q2.

As a guide, the following table shows how many branches are affected at week 23: Please note, these numbers may alter slightly if by the end of the week 26 performance, coupled with a Growth Bond overpayment, moves any branches above a new payment threshold. You will also note in the table below that six branches move up a payment level following the sales data being corrected.

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Confirmation of Q2 payments



Week commencing 12 October all branches will receive confirmation of Q2 payments including where appropriate the overpaid amount to be deducted in Q3. Your branch report this week, and going forward will have correctly stated sales performances. Please be assured that we have rigorously audited the revised sales data and we are confident in its ongoing accuracy.



It is unfortunate this error has occurred so soon after launching the new Sales Incentive Scheme. We however remain confident that increased sales will be properly rewarded and continue to have faith in the sales incentive scheme. We urge you to continue to do your best to increase sales and bonus payments.

Richard Barker Andy Furey
General Manager Assistant Secretary
Crown Network Communication Workers Union



Clearly, it is disappointing that this error has occurred; I however continue to have full confidence in the merits of the Sales Incentive Scheme and its benefits for our members in terms of potential bonus payments. I would urge all members to review their weekly sales reports and figures on an ongoing basis. By using the overview provided on the Tracker displayed in the office, members can determine which products need to be concentrated on in order to move through the gateway and onto the next bonus payment level.

Further updates with regards to the Sales Incentive Scheme, particularly Q2 bonus payments will be reported.

Any enquiries should be addressed to Claire Bowers at cbowers@cwu.org



Yours sincerely

Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary

[Big TImmy]

yet another balls up!

[saunders265]

If you led them to a brewery, opened the doors, took them in, and showed them what was there, they still wouldn’t know what to do…