LTB 751/16 - MANAGERS' UPDATE: RECOGNISING GOOD ATTENDANCE

[TrueBlueTerrier]

LTB 751/16 - MANAGERS’ UPDATE: RECOGNISING GOOD ATTENDANCE

No. 751/2016

22 December 2016

MANAGERS’ UPDATE: RECOGNISING GOOD ATTENDANCE

Dear Colleagues,

I attach a document issued by Royal Mail to its managers entitled “Recognising good attendance” dated 16th December, received at head office from representatives in the field on 19th December.

Contrary to the claim in the document the CWU was not briefed on the scheme nor was the union consulted on the attached document. The union was informed that Royal Mail intended to run an incentive scheme in the form of a prize draw. Last Friday, clearly after the attached brief had been drawn up and after copies of the December edition of The Courier which contains details of the scheme had gone to print, we were advised that the business intended to brief employees this week – no details of the scheme were shared.

The union is opposed to any scheme which encourages members to attend work when they are not well enough to do so, or penalises people for being ill. We believe the scheme is an ill thought out, knee jerk return to the policies of a decade ago. It is extremely disappointing that the business has reverted to an unimaginative and self-defeating approach to the management of attendance which seeks to bypass the union.

According to “The Courier” the intention is to “reinforce the message that our people have a vital part to play every day in delivering a great service to our customers”. Our members don’t need patronising messages of this kind, particularly at this time of year. Whatever the intention of the scheme, in reality, it will act as a further signal to managers that they must “get tough” on sickness absence.

Over the last 18 months the union has received an increasing number of reports from all parts of Royal Mail of aggressive and bullying misapplication of the Attendance Procedure – in particular:



Abuse of contact strategy
Routine issue of stage reviews regardless of circumstances
Threatened or actual stoppage of pay for alleged “non-cooperation”
Counting absences arising from accidents on duty or disability
Sacking people with an underlying health condition – in some cases when they were attending work regularly


Despite this return to the sort of management behaviours in evidence before the introduction of the 2013 Attendance agreement, the level of sickness absence has continued to increase. The union has called for a joint and root and branch analysis of the underlying causes of this increase, which has taken place over the same period in which the number of reported bullying and harassment cases has increased by 52% and significant concerns about reasonable workload and aggressive management have been reported by staff in the company’s “Big Conversation” employee opinion exercise. Royal Mail has agreed to meet to discuss this in January. The union will positively engage to improve workplace morale and address some of the issues which we believe are driving the increase in sickness absence. This half-baked panic measure will not help. Branches should ensure that the Grievance Procedure and Industrial Relations Framework are used if managers abuse the contact strategy (the terms of which were jointly summarised by CWU and Royal Mail in LTB 691/2016) or if any of the other aggressive management behaviours and breaches of the Attendance Procedure listed in the bullet points above are encountered.

All enquiries regarding the content of this LTB should be addressed to the PTCS Department, quoting reference 415.

Yours Sincerely,

RAY ELLIS

ASSISTANT SECRETARY

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Recognising good attendance

As you know, when colleagues are absent, it can impact the rest of the team and the service we provide our customers

We are therefore launching a recognition scheme to give all frontline colleagues the opportunity to win one of 11 brand new cars 

The scheme has been designed as a tool to support you and your team deliver a great service

We hope it will help you achieve your performance measures by reducing the absence challenges historically seen in the final quarter of the financial year.

Background

The hard work you and your team complete every day helps us deliver a great service for our customers

The wellbeing of our colleagues is important to us. If a colleague is ill, they may need to take time off to recover

However, given the important role colleagues play every day, we want the opportunity to recognise those colleagues with 100% attendance.

Did you know?
Sick absence is traditionally higher during the final quarter of the financial year 
The cost of sick absence across Royal Mail Group each year is significant 
We have more than 70 teams with 100% attendance so far this year
Sick absence rates vary by over 8% from our best and worst performing sites

We have a jointly agreed attendance policy that we need to consistently utilise when colleagues are absent through illness

Our attendance policy includes the use of a robust contact strategy, welcome back meetings, and actioning prompts.

How the scheme will work

All frontline colleagues with no sick or unauthorised absence from Monday 19 December 2016 – Sunday 23 April 2017, will be included in a draw to win one of 11 brand new cars 

Each winner will receive a Ford Fiesta five-door hatch 1.5TDCI 75ps Style. The cars will be theirs to own for good  

There will be three winners in each Royal Mail region – East, North and West - one winner in Logistics and one winner from across Parcelforce Worldwide, International and RMSS.

Key terms and conditions

Prize winners will be announced four to six weeks after the financial year end to ensure sufficient time is allowed for the review of absence records and verification of the results

Royal Mail Group will pay the associated tax of receiving the car for the winners

The scheme will be open to all frontline colleagues across Royal Mail Operations, Logistics, Parcelforce Worldwide, International and RMSS, regardless of employment contract (i.e. part-time and full-time employees; fixed-term and substantive contracts) who are employed in UKPIL for the full duration of the incentive scheme  

The following will not be recorded as absences for the purpose of this recognition scheme:

1. Any sickness absence related to a disability which is covered under the Equality Act 

2. Any absence for maternity, pregnancy related illness, paternity, shared parental leave, adoption leave or special leave 

Any colleague who receives a conduct warning during the scheme or who subsequently receives a warning for conduct that took place during the period of the scheme will not be eligible

Please note that any strike related absence or any other industrial action by colleagues between 19 December 2016 and 23 April 2017 will result in those colleagues being excluded from the draw.

What happens next?

Please print and share the Recognising Good Attendance colleague brief, available by clicking here, with all members of your team. Highlight the key terms and conditions 

You should try and speak to every colleague by Monday 19 December 

The scheme is the perfect opportunity for you to talk to your teams about the positive impact they have every day on the service we deliver for our customers. We want to reinforce how important our frontline colleagues are to our success

Use this as an opportunity to reinforce to your team about the important role they have to play and the impact on their colleagues and our service when people are absent

Also remind them of the correct contact strategy if they are unwell

The CWU and Unite/CMA have been briefed on the recognition scheme. We encourage you to speak to your local representative on the benefits of the scheme to both our colleagues and our customers.

Support materials

Next week, all colleagues will receive a letter about the scheme at their home address

The scheme features in this month’s Courier (please note the dates of the scheme period referenced in Courier have been updated to Monday 19 December 2016 – Sunday 23 April 2017) 

There will also be supporting communications across our intranet and on myroyalmail.com/recognisinggoodattendance

Click here for a copy of the full terms and conditions of the scheme. 
 
Thank you for your support in launching the scheme. By working together I know we can maximise attendance and deliver a great service for our customers. 

[lilymccafferty]

Then why is it that the union turn a blind eye when employees are forced into do light duties I myself was forced back with broken elbow 1 to 2 hour a day and DOMs calling to homes playing mind games surely the union recognize this is a strategic plan from the top why not print an in-depth analysis for members rights

[teesdale]

I was warned not to go sick during a certain month as I had been sick during that month four years ago. I won't be winning a car because Royal Mail must now give something back to me for suffering this harassment. I had just come out of hospital four years ago and had to go sick the next day. I thought management had been doing quite well for a while, but I now need a good pay rise next year because they spoilt their good run.

[Chelseablue]

Just a form of b and h again with this letter.

[Phantom]

If you're ill then forget this crap and go on the sick, return to work when you are fit enough. You can't lose what you never had!!!

[worktotime]

its about time the cwu did something to sort all this b&h and its not just when your on sick either.

[Tiddler]

I think that all employees with 100% attendance record should receive recognition, if they manage to maintain it for a 12 month period, even if it's just a £50 voucher.
In our office only around 10% of staff have a 100% attendance over the last 12 months.
Managing 4 months isn't really an achievement in my eyes and being put into a draw isn't an incentive!