There has been a lot happening since the last Prospect News in May and the Prospect call on 3rd June.  The union has been in regular dialogue with the company about their approach to Health & Safety and the re-opening of the O2 stores, the application of the People Guide, the Pensions Review, and recently in relation to transformation in the Sales, Service and Retention directorate.

Sales, Service and Retention directorate

Formal consultation commenced with Prospect on 24th June were information about the proposed plans where shared with us, under embargo until formal announcements were made on 1/7/20.  If you are impacted by these proposal you should now have been made aware of what this means for you following your individual consultation meeting.

The rationale for this change proposal is improving and simplifying the business focusing on end to end, multi-channel journeys and therefore, SSR need to increase the focus on these customer journeys and the customer’s priorities. Whilst we appreciate that making it easier for all teams across O2 to collaborate to deliver one simplified experience for customers is a good initiative we are naturally very disappointed that the proposals include 61 potential redundancies across all grades, 25 of which are from the management population.   The purpose of the consultation will be to identify ways to mitigate these redundancies and to find suitable alternative employment for people who are at risk. This will involve looking at the vacancies across Telefónica and the use of agency staff and I have today requested an up-to-date list from the company. There are 9 new roles being proposed in this area and I have proposed that these are ring fenced for those at risk in the first instance prior to opening them up to the wider population.

The collective consultation period also provides you with the opportunity to provide feedback to the company about their proposals and to propose any counter proposals. Therefore as this is a time bound process please contact Arvind Ladwa, Jon Saunders or myself as soon as possible, with any concerns or queries that you may have so that we can raise them on your behalf at our next consultative meeting.  You can also contact the Membership Contact Centre on 0300 600 1878 who can also provide you with initial advice and put you in contact with a Prospect representative for individual support if required.

Our aim during the collective consultation is to ensure that your views are listened to, and that the people processes that underpin the change framework are fairly and equitably applied.

Pensions Review- We want your views 

Telefónica are running a pensions consultation from 22 June to 4 September 2020 on changes to how your pension scheme operates, the contribution structure and death benefits. We will be responding to the consultation on behalf of members and this will provide an opportunity for us to raise positive changes that you would like to see made to your pensions in our consultation response

The company say that whilst they already have a very good pension benefit at Telefónica which is well run and managed by the Trustees, the market is moving from single employer trusts to multi-employer master trusts. The company believe it will be of benefit to scheme members if they move your pension into a master trust. The Trustees are also supportive of moving to master trust, as they also believe it is in member interests.

Master Trusts provide workplace pensions to multiple unrelated employers, not single employer and provide for better economies of scale with lower charges and greater resources. The proposed date for new scheme is 1 December 2020

The proposed changes are positive and are welcomed by the Union.

We will be holding an online pensions meeting joined by Prospect Pensions Officer Stewart Mott to help explain to members how pensions operate, what the proposed changes are and to seek feedback from members. Please look out for detail of the call.

Please note Prospect are not authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to provide financial advice.

Adastral Park consultation -closure

On the 8th June the company shared their plans with the union, embargoed until 1st July, regarding the closure of Adastral Park. Over the years, the usage there has markedly reduced and the company propose to close it with effect from the end of August 2020. All 19 people who currently work at Adastral Park will be designated as home working, with homeworker expenses provided. Consultation with those people affected will commence 1st July.  If you have any concerns or require support please contact Arvind Ladwa, Jon Saunders or Chris Silk

Finally, if you are interested in getting more involved with the union and supporting your colleagues at work then for an informal chat please give me or Arvind Ladwa a call or speak to one of our Organisers:

• Ben Bellamy (North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland) [email protected] 01455 570086
• Ray Muir (BT Centre and other London sites including BT Sport; Telefónica/Capita sites in the North) [email protected] 01924 207890
• Carol Quinn (South West, Midlands and Wales) [email protected] 02920 666557

Contact details for all members on the Telefonica Committee can be found by clicking here