Members in AXA Commercial will have seen that flexitime (re-branded banked hours) will be reintroduced in their business area from the 1st July. It has been almost 15 months since the operation suspended flexitime and employees unable to bank excess hours. We are glad to see that the situation has now changed and those members working unpaid excess hours will now be able to bank them or take time off in lieu.

The consultation over this has been protracted and intense with many differing viewpoints being put forward. It is no secret that some people would like to see flexitime removed, whereas we know it is an extremely valuable benefit to our members.

Since Commercial published its principles of how it was looking to reintroduce flexible working we have been inundated with feedback from members. The main areas of concern were the pre-booking of flexitime and what would happen to excess hours worked that had not been pre-booked. A smaller amount of feedback revolved around the reduction in potential flexidays to 6.

Pre-booking flexitime: somewhat ironically this is not a new rule and was introduced in 2013 when the first flexitime charters were rolled out. Despite being in the site charters it appears very few managers applied the rule. Our view was that if it was not broke, don’t fix it. Management’s view is that its application going forward with be ‘light touch’ which is a bit nebulous but if your local manager has previously trusted you to work excess hours we expect they will continual to trust you.

Work outside bankable hours: one legitimate concern was what would happen (for example) if you were stuck on the phone with a customer past your standard hours but had not pre-booked flexible working or the work took less than the 30 minute bankable block. There never was any intention from the company that this work would be unpaid, but this was not made clear. Should you end up stuck on the phone, or are finishing an urgent piece of work after your contracted hours you will be given that time back as “time off in lieu”. Should that extra work take more than 30 minutes your manager can alternatively offer you that back as bankable hours.

Number of flexidays: before April 2020 some staff in Commercial were able to take up to 13 flexidays a year, others were not allowed to take any. Finding a way of squaring that circle has not been easy and trying to find one rule that works in a trading centre and also works in a small branch has been problematical. Given that no more than 50% of staff were taking six days a year we pushed for that as the number to be accommodated (it is more than what was initially pitched). This figure will be reviewed next year when we will have a year of recorded centralised data to review.

Whilst we appreciate not everyone will be happy with the final outcome, especially the small percentage who would build up their hours to take 13 flexidays before the suspension of flexitime, we think that the final outcome is reasonable with some members who did not get flexitime now getting it and it is a more reasonable proposition than the current suspension of flexitime that in our opinion has gone on too long.

Following intervention from Unite in AXA, flexitime will be reintroduced in Retail Motor Claims from 1st June following its suspension without our knowledge.

Further flexitime will be rolled out in Household Claims once staff resourcing issues have been resolved.

Thanks to our new Claims rep in Tunbridge Wells, Gary Summers, for bringing the matter to our attention.

At the start of the pandemic flexitime was suspended in Commercial Lines. Since then we have engaged with the business in an effort to see the reintroduction of it in some form as soon as was practical. Following on from our survey last year, which raised a number of concerns around the suspension, a working party (which included several union reps) was set up by AXA to look into flexible working in Commercial Lines, with a view to how this could work in the forthcoming smart working environment.

This working party gathered feedback from commercial staff across all grades and departments and has now produced a set of proposed principles for flexible working for Commercial going forward, which incorporates flexitime (now called banked hours) as an option giving employees access to different flexible working options, including the ability to work flexibly within the working day/ week and the ability to bank hours where there is a business need for additional hours to be worked. These guidelines are different from the old rather prescriptive flexitime charter rules and see a number of improvements but also see some changes that some people may feel impact them negatively.

The flexible working principles have now been published so employees can read and understand the proposed changes and we are encouraging you to provide feedback to your local union rep to be fed back into the working party about any major concerns you might possibly have with the new guidelines.

The principles are of course a compromise of many different viewpoints on the subject and whilst not everyone is going to be pleased with some of the proposed changes, the improvements from current rules hopefully demonstrate that whilst the end result is a compromise it is a definite improvement to the ongoing suspension of flexitime.

Today’s announcement of the loss of the Lloyds contract will cause worry and anxiety for the staff in Travel Claims who now face an uncertain future. At present there are many important questions that cannot be immediately answered, but we will be working with the company to protect the interests of our members in the affected unit, and minimise any potential job losses.

If you have any concerns, please speak to your local Unite in AXA representative and we will do our best to answer them. A list of reps can be found here.

The result of the 2021 pay ballot is as follows:

For: 88%
Against: 12%

We have communicated this to the company…

Thank you to everyone who voted and the local workplace reps for the hard work they put in running the ballot.

Are you home-schooling or in a household with young children? Unite in AXA are holding sessions to see how this lockdown is impacting on you. The sessions will be held on Bluejeans and are open to all AXA employees with childcare responsibilities. The Meetings are as follows:

Thursday 18th February: 12-2pm (BluejeansMeeting ID: 974140311)

Thursday 18th February: 6-8pm (Bluejeans Meeting ID: 196858840)

Friday 19th February: 12-2pm (BluejeansMeeting ID: 683346883)

Click here to read the latest Unite in AXA newsletter detailing the 2021 Pay Offer we have presented to the company. Please leave your feedback below or talk to your local union rep.

The 2021 pay ballot for members in the AXA UK bargaining unit is now open and will close at 2pm on Friday 19th February.

Due to the Covid-19 crisis this years ballot will be undertaken electronically. Local reps will email members with instructions on how to vote. You will need your Unite the Union membership number to be able to vote. If you have not received an email with the instructions on how to vote within the next couple of days or cannot remember your membership number, please contact your local rep, a list can be found here.

• The pay review budget has been negotiated between AXA and Unite
• This statement applies to all AXA UK employees other than AXA Health or AXA – Global Healthcare
• A 1.5% pay review budget has been offered
• Individual pay increases will vary based on performance and position in pay range 
• Unite balloting will take place from 8th-19th February

This statement tells you the overall pay review budget (how much AXA has to spend on pay increases) and framework (how AXA will spend it) for 2021. This is negotiated between AXA and Unite for all Associate to Professional band employees in AXA UK, other than AXA Health or AXA – Global Healthcare.

Overall budget

This year’s talks have concluded with an offer of a 1.5% total pay review budget for employees in Associate to Professional bands. The same budget will apply to the Senior Professional to Senior Leader bands. Whilst the overall budget will be shared across all eligible employees, individual increases will vary based on the circumstances set out below. The same 1.5% budget will apply in AXA Health and AXA – Global Healthcare. Any pay increases will take effect from 1 April 2021. 

Associate to Senior Associate Pay Approach

Though the 2021 pay review budget (the amount available to spend) is 1.5%, actual pay awards for individuals will vary according to two factors – 2020 performance rating and position in pay range. This means that the budget will be geared more towards those with higher individual performance and those positioned at the low end of the pay range, following the matrix below.

Individual outcomes will be formally communicated to employees in March. Further information about how pay is distributed using the matrix (including how to calculate your position in range) can be found on the My Pay page on ONE.

Professional to Senior Leader Pay Approach

Senior managers who are responsible for pay decisions for the pay review process (also known as Pool Heads) will have full discretion to set pay awards within the overall budget for employees in Professional to Senior Leader bands. These decisions are made in the context of a range factors including individual performance, the external market and comparable pay between peers. Outcomes are reviewed centrally to ensure fairness and we have reviewed these checks and balances this year (including guidance given to Pool Heads) in order to ensure that they continue to lead to good outcomes for employees. 

Other adjustments to Pay Ranges

AXA UK will increase minimum salaries in the pay ranges in line with the Real Living Wage for National and London (£17,290 and £19,747, respectively, for a 35-hour FTE contract). The latest pay ranges are available on ONE and are effective 1 April 2021. There’s more information on the pay review process on the My Pay & Benefits pages on ONE. 

Next steps

Unite will ballot its members on this offer, with the ballot taking place between the 8th and 19th February.

Please speak to your line manager or Unite representative if you have any questions.

Other AXA entities based in the UK will have their own pay arrangements.

 Claudio Gienal                                                  Dominic Hook

Group Chief Executive                                    National Officer

AXA UK & Ireland                                              Unite the Union