New Attendance Pattern Agreement Recommended in BT Consumer

Telecoms & Financial Services, Call Centres

Long sought improvements to the range of attendance patterns available to staff in BT Consumer are being placed before members in a consultative ballot which opens next month.

Following protracted talks with the company – which were given added impetus by the strength of feeling expressed on the issue by delegates at CWU Annual Conference– draft agreement has finally been reached on a package of proposals which the CWU negotiating team believes secure the meaningful improvements to attendance options that customer facing staff have been craving for years. The CWU Executive has now agreed to place the package before members in a consultative ballot, with a strong recommendation for its approval.

At the heart of the proposed new system of Team Based Scheduling  is the concept that, in contrast to the current situation under which members of a team can have entirely different attendance patterns, in future teams will share, as far as possible, the same attendance pattern.

CWU national officer for BT Consumer Nigel Cotgrove explained, “The new attendances will be chosen from a menu of different options, backed up with specific provisions under the new agreement. These crucially  provide long term predictability of attendances and days off something members have consistently told us is their number one priority. The Agreement also maximises full weekends off,  brings in new flexi time options and allow more choice over when to take breaks. At the same time there are continued protections for  those who cannot work standard patterns for personal and domestic reasons, as well as protection for Sunday earnings. “

Details of the draft agreement are explained within a special booklet produced by the CWU that has  been mailed to members who would be impacted by team based scheduling. The CWU has also produced a podcast which you can listen to here.

Urging members to ratify the new agreement in the forthcoming ballot, Nigel said: “For the last three years the union has been pressing BT Consumer to make improvements in the arrangements for attendance patterns – and throughout we have been clear that the current arrangements are not good enough due to the lack of predictability of attendances, variable start times and a poor work-life  balance.”

“The proposed agreement would extensively overhaul and improve the existing 2015 arrangements and the CWU Executive is strongly recommending that you vote to support it.”

More details can be found at www.cwu.org/team-based-scheduling/