Advance Winter 2011

YOURsurveysays...

www.advance-union.org

See inside for the resultsof our 2011 survey

UpdateNews from the financial sector

Bigger, better, strongerThe message from Advance’s annual seminar

PensionsWhy you need a pension plansooner rather than later

2 ADVANCE magazine Winter 2011

Published by Advance, 2nd Floor, 16/17 High Street,Tring, Herts HP23 5AH

Telephone: 01442 891122Fax: 01442 891133Email: [email protected]

All articles © advance magazine2011 or the author. The contentsmay not be reproduced withoutpermission. Writers’ views are not necessarily those of Advance.

Editor: Linda Rolph

Design & production:www.design-mill.co.uk

12CONTENTSPAY PROGRESSION 4

ADVANCE ELECTION UPDATE 4

A PENSION IS A MUST 5The earlier you join a pensionscheme, the better.

YOUR SURVEY SAYS... 6The results from our 2011employee survey.

RETAIL MORTGAGE SALES 8An update on businessperformance.

WHAT ARE CONSISTENCYSESSIONS? 8Ensure that your appraisal is fair.

CARTOON 9

BIGGER, BETTER, STRONGER 10The message from the annualAdvance seminar.

REP CHAT 12Maria Maleki talks to us about her role within Advance.

Printed on FSC accreditedrecycled paper.

CHRISTMASOFFICE HOURSThe Advance office will be closedfrom 2pm on Friday 23 December2011 and will reopen on Tuesday 3 January 2012 at 9am whennormal working hours will be resumed.

During the Christmas/New Yearperiod, Linda Rolph, GeneralSecretary, will be taking anyemergency calls, and can becontacted on 07850 742340.

5

68

In this issue...

10

Evening helpline Contact Linda every Wednesday 8.30pm – 10pm 07850 742340

Winter 2011 ADVANCE magazine 3

WelcomeWith so much going on in

the UK and in Europeit is difficult for anyoneto feel very optimistic

at present. There are one million youngpeople (aged 16 – 24) currentlyunemployed which must be devastatingfor them.

It is really important for all companies(large and small) to offer our nextgeneration hope by providingapprenticeships and work experiencetraining – it is all of our responsibility todo what we can to help. Advance havebeen asking Santander UK to play theirpart and we have suggested that thecompany provide apprenticeshiptraining. On the back of our suggestionplans are now under way for theseapprenticeships to be developed bySantander UK. However much moreneeds to be done and Advance willcontinue to ask what the company’splans in this area are under CorporateSocial Responsibility.

Times are difficult for many peoplemeeting their challenges – life isdemanding at present. Whatever ishappening in the country, it is not anexcuse for people in work anywhere to bebelittled, shouted at or have unreasonabledemands made to do more whilst beinggrateful for having a job. Unfortunatelythis is the pressure that some people areworking under, as many of you willknow from friends and family workingin many companies. Advance takes thisissue very seriously and we take actionagainst such behaviour.

As part of your response to our survey(and in calls to our helpline), you haveprovided information on your concernswhich include being put on IRPs for notachieving your credit card sales. An IRPis part of the Performance Managementpolicy that is there to help people toimprove their performance – it shouldNOT be used as a threat. In addition,your manager has a major role to play in helping you to improve yourperformance.

You have also told us about theamount of time taken on ConferenceCalls (which take place on a daily andweekly basis) and the disruption thatthese calls cause to both branches andcustomers. Many Branch Managers feelthat these calls are very de-motivatingand some felt that they were used tobelittle those who had not achievedtarget in front of their peer group.Conference calls should be limited andhave a purpose. We have raised the issuesrelating to Conference Calls with seniormanagement who are looking into thismatter. We will let you know theirresponse.

So, what issues did our members raise?In a word, many. Some of the headlineissues included the following:Pay: The top priority for our memberswas pay. Advance have already madeheadway in this area with PayProgression and the minimum salary(£13,500) that anyone working inSantander can earn. (We will raise thislatter issue for Geoban in the future).However, that said, many of you felt thatyou were not rewarded sufficiently forthe work that you did on a daily basis.The Bonus Scheme: Many believedthat the Bonus Scheme didn’t reflect the work that was done and that thecompany tried to find reasons to refusepaying bonuses.Resourcing Toolkit: Surprisingly, therewas a strong sentiment that many peopledid not have a work/life balance despiteall of the work that Advance did inpartnership with Santander in draftingthe Resourcing Toolkit. The ResourcingToolkit is a policy like any other andcannot be treated any differently.Pressure on time: Many members did not feel that they could give the levelof customer service that they wishedbecause they had to fit too many tasksinto their working day. FTE: Many of you believe that the FTEmodel does not take into account all of the jobs undertaken into account.Discussions are already under way

regarding this issue. Some of our branchreps and I have met with senior peoplewho develop the FTE model and talksare ongoing.Training: This was another concernand, in particular, a lack of time given to staff to undertake training.Targets: Many branch staff believe thatthey are held responsible for the currenteconomic situation and are stressedabout their future because they are noton target.

Other issues included concernsrelating to paperwork, IT Systems, etc.You can read full details of our surveyresults on pages 6 & 7.

As stated, some of the issues whichyou have raised are currently beingdiscussed with senior management.Advance believes that if Santander UKwants to be the Best Employer to workfor and not just the Best Bank to workfor they must start to respond to yourconcerns. Advance want incentives to bemore reflective of customer service andwhich don’t put branches and staff inconflict with each other and with otherdepartments in the bank. We will bediscussing the full survey results withsenior management and will focus onthe issues that make your working lifebetter which will help Santander UKachieve its objective of being the BestBank to Work For.

Finally, I want to thank you all foryour loyalty, help and contribution toAdvance. I wish you and your family a happy, healthy and peaceful 2012.

No matter what issues 2012 brings,Advance will work in your interests andcontinue to be your voice at work.

Linda Rolph, General Secretary


UPDATE

PAY PROGRESSION GOOD NEWS FOR 2012At pay negotiations in 2011 you may recall thatAdvance had negotiated that Santander UK wouldcommit to the implementation of a National PayProgression Scheme in 2012.

After months of discussion and negotiation thishas now been agreed. Advance believes that wehave agreed a Pay Progression scheme that is secondto none in the banking world and which will benefitmany of our members. It will first be launched inthe Retail Branch network as this area has thelargest number of people below mid-point despitesome having worked for the bank for years.

Currently TD and some Head Office/Contact sites have a Pay Progression scheme.

Advance is currently in discussions with seniormanagement to finalise the dates that the PayProgression scheme will be introduced to otherdivisions. We will advise you of the full details of PayProgression (including its roll-out) in the New Year.

Advance has ensured that Santander UK hascommitted a budget to fund Pay Progression that is totally separate to any Pay Review.

Below are some of the major points and, as stated earlier, full details will follow in 2012.

PAY PROGRESSIONPay Progression is a process by which you can moveto mid-point (formerly known as the Anchor) of your salary range providing you have achieved aSuccessful Performance (SP) appraisal rating over a specified time.

Below is a visual of what is meant by mid-point:

Minimum salary range Mid Point Maximum80% 100% 120%

Pay Progression is a means to move from 80% to 100%based on your end-of-year performance rating over anagreed timescale.

WHAT HAPPENS?In the first year it will affect those employees in theRetail Bank who are currently sitting between 80% and90% of the mid-point of their salary range and whohave achieved a year-end rating of SP or above for 2011.

We have also negotiated a “Head Start” payment of3% for those eligible for the scheme who achieved anSP rating or above for the end of 2010 and 2011.

A raft of information will follow from us andSantander bank in 2012 so that you will understandyour position.

IT GETS EVEN BETTERYou will also recall that as part of our 2011 Paysettlement we agreed that a minimum hourly rate of£7.41, or £13,500 would apply to staff with at least 12months service and an SP rating. This was due to takeeffect in March 2012. However, we have reachedagreement to bring forward this date to take effectfrom January 2012, therefore members who get theirincrease in January will have their 2012 pay awardbased on that new figure.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASEOne very important point to remember is that yourend-of-year rating plays an even bigger part indetermining if you move up in relation to the mid-point of your salary range: if you don’t get an SP ratingyou won’t be in the Pay Progression scheme. Becauseof the impact that your appraisal rating has on yourpay, if you are not happy with the end-of-year ratingthat you receive you MUST appeal. Appealing againstyour rating does not mean that you are not a teamplayer – you have nothing to lose if you are ratedbelow an SP rating.

Advance will begin pay negotiations during January.We will be issuing full details of Pay Progression in afuture edition of our magazine. Contact the Advancehelpline for confidential advice on 01442 891122.Advance will be discussing the need for a PayProgression scheme in Geoban in early 2012.

ADVANCEELECTION

The Advance elections are currently under way to elect AreaRepresentatives and National Executive Committee members. Detailswill be available on the Advance website (www.advance-union.org)after they have concluded in December. In the next edition of ourmagazine the back page will reflect the new representative structure(including contact details for these reps). Newly elected reps will takeup duties from 2 January 2012. update



The earlier you join a pensionscheme, the better. TheSantander Retirement Plan is open to all Santander staff

(although different terms apply if youhave taken your defined benefit pensionand continued working for Santander).

We know that times are hard andmoney is tight. However we stronglyurge you to think very carefully beforeopting out of the Santander RetirementPlan. There is still a lot of life to comefor most people when they reachretirement. State Pension Age will rise66 for men and women by 2020, andto age 68 by 2046. Most people arenow living well into their 80’s andbeyond which is great: however, itwould be difficult and miserable toreach such a grand age and worry aboutmoney. No-one can predict the future.However please be realistic and planahead: no doubt, you have heard thesaying “Never look a gift-horse in themouth” – well, that is what you couldbe doing if you opt out for the simplereason that Santander contributes 2%more than you do and, as your lengthof service increases so too does thecompany’s contribution to yourpension (up to a maximum of 12.5%).

So, for example, in your first yearwith Santander, if you put 3% intoyour pension Santander will pay 5%(increasing to 7.5% once you haveworked for Santander for four years)which means that a total of 8% is paid.The great news is that you can start offby paying a minimum of 3% of yourpensionable salary and increase it asyour career progresses in Santander.

Whilst I won’t dwell on doom andgloom (there’s enough of that every day),should you die your dependents willreceive some financial benefit.Information on this and all details ofyour pension will be in the pack that hasbeen sent out to you. This pack gives alldetails and a helpline number for you to

ring if you have any questions. So, please think carefully. I like to

think that when you get to a great age,you can still enjoy life and can raise aglass of whatever and smile becauseyou made a good decision.

We have a list of the most frequentlyasked questions in relation to theSantander Retirement Plan.

HOW MUCH CAN I PAY INTO MYSANTANDER RETIREMENT PLAN?You can pay as much as you wish intoyour pension scheme, providing it is aminimum of 3% of your pensionablesalary (as long as it is a whole percentagefigure). You can also change the amountthat you pay or pay a lump sum intoyour pension. Your contributions aremade through payroll and qualify for taxrelief at your highest rate of income tax.Added to this, your employer pays 2%more than your regular contribution andas your length of service increases youremployer’s contribution to your pensionincreases also. Tax relief is available oncontributions so long as the total paidinto the Plan doesn’t exceed £50,000 perannum in a tax year.

WHEN CAN I DRAW MY PENSION?You can draw your pension at any timefrom the age of 55 (providing you haveat least 2 years’ Plan service) and youcan continue to work past the age of65 and build up your Plan account.You can also draw your pension whilstcontinuing to work. You can choose an annuity (a regular income) just foryourself, or one that continues to bepaid to someone else after your death.On retirement you can receive up to25% of the value of your fund as a tax-free cash lump sum.

WHAT HAPPENS TO MY PENSION IFI LEAVE SANTANDER UK?If you leave Santander contributions toyour pension will stop. The choices

available to you depend on how long youhave been a member of the Plan. If youleave after less than 3 months’ serviceyour contributions (less tax) are refundedto you. If you have between 3 monthsservice and under 2 years service you caneither take a refund of your contributionsor transfer the total value into thepension scheme of a new company(providing it can accept the transfer) or to a personal or stakeholder pensionscheme. If you have 2 years service ormore you can either transfer the value ofyour fund to another pension provideror have a deferred account (but theTrustees expect you to transfer yourdeferred account on to a new schemewithin 12 months of leaving).

So you think that retirement age will never come? That’s whateveryone thinks. Believe me, it comes around faster than you think.

Please note that the informationin this article does not constituteadvice and is a summary of thePlan’s terms. Before making anydecision as to the best way toproceed in providing for yourretirement you should seekprofessional advice.

A PENSION IS A MUST


Your feedback will form partof Advance’s plans for 2012.We will raise your issueswith senior management

within all business levels in SantanderUK. In addition, we will advise you ofthe responses and actions throughoutthe year in forthcoming editions ofour magazine.

This Survey was only sent to ourSantander UK members. A similarsurvey will be sent to our Geobanmembers during the 1st quarter of 2012.

RESPONSE RATE BY BUSINESS DIVISION:Central & East 11%London & SE 12%North 11%NW & Yorkshire 12%South West 11%Wales & West 10%TD 4%Bancassurance 6%Mortgage Division 4%Risk 5%All other 14%

RESPONSE RATE BY ROLE:Branch Manager 13%SCM/CM 11%PBA 18%CSA 23%CRM/FPA/other Bancassurance roles 6%MA/other MD Roles 4%Complaints Advisers 3%Collection Advisers/other Risk roles 5%TD 4%Other Retail Roles 2%Other Back Office Roles 11%

RESPONSESQ1 What 3 key priorities in relation

to your employment would youlike ADVANCE to improve in 2012?We asked you to prioritise yourtop 3 in order of importance.

Q2 What type of incentive schemedoes your role qualify for?

Q3 If you are in a quarterly / monthly bonus scheme, have you received any bonus so far for 2011?

Q4 If you answered ‘Yes’ how muchdid you receive?

Nothing 5%Less than £50.00 3%£50 to £100 3%£100 to £150 4%£150 to £200 4%£200 to £250 4%£250 to £300 8%£300 to £350 4%£350 to £400 5%£400 to £450 2%£450 to £500 5%£500 to £550 3%£550 to £600 4%£600 to £650 2%£650 to £700 4%£700 to £750 4%£750 to £800 1%£800 to £850 4%£850 to £900 2%£900 to £950 2%£950 to £1000 12%£1000 plus 7%Did not disclose 8%

SURVEY

YOUR survey speaks...Thanks to all our members who completed the Advance survey. We received a great response of 71% which, considering the strict timescales which we had to adhere to, was fantastic.

“TOO MANY SALESCAMPAIGNS, TOOMANY NEW PRODUCTSTOO OFTEN”

1 Pay (39%)

2 ( joint)Targets and

Incentives/Bonus Scheme (31%)

3 ( joint) Work lifebalance/

Time to carryout role (30%)

56%Received a

bonus so farthis year

13%Annual

4% Monthly

44%Did not receivea bonus so far

this year

83%Quarterly


Q5 Do you know how much you arepaid in relation to the mid-pointfor your role?

30% of respondents confirmedthat they were earning less than100% of their mid-point for their role.

20% of those earning less than100% of their mid-point of their rolehad been with the bank for morethan 3 years with some people intheir role for more than 5 years.

10% of the responses did notknow what % of their mid-pointthey earned.

90% of the responses wereable to confirm their % to mid-point.

Q6 What new procedure/changewould allow you to improveyour customer service? Therewere lots of suggestions(unfortunately too many toreport). However these havebeen divided into broadstrands below.

• Resourcing in Retail brancheswas mentioned in almost allresponses from the branch staffand from all roles:

• Systems not fit for purpose. Out of date. Difficulty movingbetween portals and findingcustomer information, too manyold style ATM’s, all impacted onyour ability to provide goodcustomer service.

• Not having sufficient time to doyour role effectively, this camefrom both Retail and Head Officestaff, too much emphasis onlength of calls in Contact Centresrather than the quality.

• Too much bureaucracy and redtape and far too much paperwork.

• The additional tasks requiredfrom Branch staff in trying toresolve a customer complaintwithin 48 hours was taking awayfrom their existing resource. DSTextremely complicated and time

consuming. Managers wouldlike to have more discretion.

• Too many sales campaigns,too many new products toooften, not enough time toembed changes before anew product or campaignstarts again all impact oncustomer service.

• Senior Managers “payinglip service” to CustomerFirst. This was explained by employees only beingasked about sales on adaily basis and nomention of how customerservice was going.

• Too many dial-in’s,conference calls, meetings etc all took managers away from the front line and impactedcustomer service. CRM’s, FPA’sMA’S and PBA’s all reported backon this particular issue.

• Insufficient training and time tolearn new policies, procedures,changes etc across all areas ofthe business.

• Not sufficient “workingtogether” right across the bank.

CONCLUSIONAdvance appreciates that you allhave a busy working and personallives. We aim to try to improve yourworking life as much as possible.

We will ensure that theseresults are discussed at nationaland local consultation meetingsheld in Q1 of 2012.As always Advance will continue to be your voice at work.

Need help and support at work? Contact the Advance helpline 01442 891 122

This information below is extremely important and ADVANCE will guarantee that no individual details or responses will be disclosed to ANYONE outside of ADVANCE.

ADVANCE SURVEY 2011We want your feedback! Dear Member,

As your voice at work, Advance wishes to hear from you with regard toissues that are important to you. As such, we need you to complete oursurvey (overleaf) and return it to us in the Freepost envelope provided by the 15th November 2011.

Why do we need you to complete this survey?• The issues which you highlight will form part of our strategic plans for 2012 to continue improving your working life.• We wish to use your feedback confidentially in our discussionsthroughout 2012 with senior management in all parts of the bank.

We spend the majority of our time at work and Advance believes that work should be enjoyable as well as challenging. Without your views, it would be more difficult for us to continue improving your life at work.I appreciate that you have a busy working and personal life and I am grateful for the time taken to complete this survey.

Thank you.

Linda

NAMEEMPLOYEE NO

ROLEBRANCH

REGIONDIVISION

NON BRANCH SITENAME OF BUSINESS AREA

BUSINESS DIVISION

All completed surveys will be entered into a prize draw. 1st prize £250 with 15 further prizes of a £10 Marks & Spencer voucher.

WIN£250Marks & Spencer voucher

PRIZE WINNERSThe lucky winners for completing the survey (£250 first prize and 15 further prizes of a £10 Marks and Spencer voucher) which were picked at random are:

1ST PRIZE – £250

CSA London & SE Division KingstonRUNNERS UP – £10 M&S VOUCHER

Branch Manager Central & East Division Barnet & EnfieldCSA North DivisionComplaints Investigator Complaints DeptPBA London & SE Division East LondonCSA South West DivisionAdviser TelesalesCRM South West DivisionCollections Adviser Risk Division C&RSCM South West DivisionCSA Central & East DivisionBM Central & East DivisionMPA North West & YorkshireCSA Wales & WestPBA North DivisionPBA London & South East


UPDATE

WHAT ARE CONSISTENCY SESSIONS?What are consistency sessions?Consistency sessions are meetingsthat take place throughout all partsof the business, such as the Retaildivision, TD and the Mortgagedivisions. These meetings takeplace between HR, BusinessManagers, Regional Managers andAdvance representatives and theobjective of these meetings is toreview appraisal ratings in theseregions/business areas to ensurefairness and consistency inapplying these ratings.

In these meetings managers canchallenge ratings that they feelmay be unfair. Advance can alsoask for justification for ratings

(especially IP and CP ratings) tounderstand why these ratingswere given and to ensure that theyare fair and consistent with theprocess. Our representatives gavetheir feedback at sessions whichwere listened to and acted on.Some representatives didchallenge managers on ratingsbeing given and, in some cases, theratings were revised upwards.Whilst we would like to attend allconsistency sessions this is notpossible as there are only 6 of usavailable to attend meetingsthroughout the country.

Written feedback fromrepresentatives who attended

consistency sessions reflected ourview that the vast majority ofindividuals had been dealt withfairly and in a consistent approach.

In previous editions of ourmagazine we have advised ourmembers that they have theoption to appeal against theirappraisal rating if they feel that itis unfair. If you have any querieson this issue, please contact theAdvance office. Advance believes that all ourmembers have the right to beappraised fairly. If you are indoubt contact one of Linda Rolph’steam or the Advance helpdesk on01442 891122.

RETAIL MORTGAGE SALESRecently Linda Rolph (GeneralSecretary) and Rose O’Neill (DeputyGeneral Secretary) met with IanEnglish (Performance Director, RetailMortgage Sales) and Andrew Fearns(HR Business Partner, Retail &Corporate Banking). UnfortunatelyRichard Rowntree (Director) wasunable to attend due to unforeseencircumstances.

Ian provided an update on thebusiness performance and waspleased to report that applicationvolumes during quarter 3 hadincreased on previous quarters andwas above the level of applicationsreceived during the same periodlast year.

This trend in performance isexpected to continue into quarter 4 with a very healthy mortgagecompletion pipeline carried forwardfrom the previous months.

Advance raised issues that ourmembers had voiced to Linda or theAdvance helpline. These includedAviva training on products. A fulldiscussion then took place. Ianprovided an update on the Avivaprotection products, confirmingthat these will be re-introduced and

that the training plans are currentlybeing finalised. In the meantime, to ensure customer service ismaintained support is beingprovided by a dedicated teamwithin Telephone Distribution.

The meeting also provided anopportunity for us to discuss yourfeedback with Ian and one of theaspects that we covered was thefuture of the MPA role. Ian was keento stress the importance of the MPAwithin the branch and that it is anintegral part of the service modelprovided to the customer. We alsodiscussed the central BMATToperation and Ian confirmed itsimportance in ensuring customersin branch’s which do not have adedicated MPA have immediateaccess to mortgage advise. Ianagreed that dialogue with branchmanagement would continue tohelp ensure that everyoneunderstands the role of BMATT.

We covered the need forperformance to be managed in the right way and in line withSantander’s policies and forsupport to be provided to thosepeople who may need it. During

our discussions Ian confirmed thathe and his team wish to supportpeople so that they are able toimprove their performance whereissues exist. We will continue tomaintain dialogue on this subject.

A number of developmentinterventions were discussed andthese included the New HireProgram, the Senior MPA role andsupporting development program,the Platinum Program for topperforming advisers and the CeMAPsponsorship for people who wish toprogress to the MPA role.

We agreed that the meeting hadbeen beneficial for all parties andwill schedule a further meeting for early next year and RichardRowntree will be in attendance.



Completing her

E O S survey

Hi Matt, can you

do this for my

customer now?

Thanks Mr Jones, however

it was Matt helping to

resolve it as much as me

Just hoping that

this comes true

in 2012

Sandy, what are

you day dreaming

about?

Matt you are a star,

another satisfied

customer

Sandy I must

get this issue

resolved today

What is Sandy

doing, she looks

very serious?

I am really busy

but of course

I will help

Sandy, thank you for sorting this

out so quickly, I will be recommending

Santander to all my family and friends

Sandy, just shows when

we work together

everything is possible

Please sit down

Mr Jones, I will

contact a colleague

who can assist

Sandy’s world

The theme for our seminar was “Bigger, Better, Stronger”. This theme was particularlyappropriate given that we want

to increase our representative base in theforthcoming elections in November. Italso reflected our wish to continue togrow our membership with your help.One of the main themes that wereprevalent throughout the seminar wasthe value and importance of working inPartnership with the business and howthis leads to the best working practicemaking Advance our members voice at work. Linda Rolph chaired theconference.

The conference began with Lindagiving an overview of the contents of the seminar.

The first speaker was AlanMathewson (Managing Director,Branch Distribution & Agencies). Alangave a presentation on Santander’spriorities and the importance ofcustomer service to the business. Aspart of his presentation he focussed onthe company’s performance and howthe role of you, the member, wasintegral to the ongoing success of the company. He also gave anacknowledgement of how working inpartnership was mutually beneficial to both Advance’s members and thebusiness. Alan then took questionsfrom the representatives present.

This was followed by a presentationby Sarah Veale (Head of the Equality &Employment Rights Department, TUC)who gave her views on the externalEmployee Relations landscape and the

place of partnerships in this environment.She cited the importance of employeeengagement in the changing economicenvironment and how this can lead tosmoother resolution of issues. Infocussing on changes in the labourmarket (which included changes in theFinancial Services sector and ingovernment legislation) she discussedthe changing role of trade unions andthe use of mediation and conciliation ingetting favourable outcomes in resolvingdisputes. Sarah also acknowledged thatAdvance was a forward-thinking tradeunion and had a good leader andGeneral Secretary in Linda Rolph.

In the afternoon Ged Nichols(General Secretary, Accord – whichnegotiates Terms & Conditions forHalifax staff, who now form part ofLloyds) gave a presentation on the

challenges that Accord faced during a period of re-structure and theimportance of Accord working inpartnership with the Lloyds BankingGroup. He gave an interesting insightinto the challenges that the business had to face following the difficultiesexperienced in the financial sector inSeptember 2008 (and in the aftermathof this crisis). The key point that hemade was that “you (trade unions) didnot know how valuable your partnershipwith the company was until it wasgone”. He focussed on the differentapproaches that different trade unionshad with employers. No trade union can agree with management plans all of the time. However, by working inpartnership, contentious issues can bedealt with. He also stressed theimportance of trade union membership


SEMINAR

On 31 October and 1 November we held the Advance seminarfor many of our representatives who work throughout thedifferent divisions of Santander UK and Geoban.

StrongerBigger, better,

“I CAME AWAY UNDERSTANDING THAT AS AN ADVANCE REPRESENTATIVE I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE” JOANN O’NEILL, RISK, HEAD OFFICE

Want advice? Contact the Advance helpline 01442 891 122


and that a larger membership makes a trade union more representative of the entire workforce of a company.Interestingly, although 30,000 membersof staff working had been maderedundant from Lloyds, the number ofmembers in Accord was actually higherthan it had been before these job losses,reflecting the importance of trade unionmembership as a means of protecting one’s job.

Following Ged’s presentation,Advance’s next guest speaker was DavidMacLeod, who co-chairs the EmployeeEngagement Task Force with NitaClarke (who is the Director of theInvolvement and ParticipationAssociation). David illustrated howincreased employee commitment isdetermined largely by how an individualis managed. He showed that moreengaged staff tend to have a betterexperience of work and, as a result, aremore productive. He also showed thatwhen staff have better “alignment”(knowing what to do) and are “engaged”(wanting to do their tasks) this led to thebest results for both the employer andthe employee. He made the point that“You don’t change things by power-point presentations” and that the activeinvolvement of individuals inimplementing change and in decision-making was important in getting thebuy-in of staff. David’s presentationillustrated that an engaged andcontented workforce is much moreproductive and this, once again, showedthe value of working in partnership.

After these presentations there was aQuestion & Answer session in whichour speakers together with Linda Rolph,Nita Clarke and Barbara Hobday tookquestions from our representatives. Thiswas a lively discussion in which everyonepresent took part.

The after-dinner guest speaker whoattended on the first evening was LordMonks (General Secretary of EuropeanTrade Union Confederation). LordMonks is also a former General Secretaryof the TUC. He gave an entertainingafter-dinner speech which included acomparison between the economies ofNorth European countries and that ofthe UK. As part of this speech he gavehis views on what the UK had to do to

strengthen its economic position. Healso gave an amusing anecdote on hismeeting with members of the Royalfamily. Amongst our other guests presentat the dinner included Charlotte Hogg(Head of Retail Distribution &Intermediaries), Simon Lloyd (HRDirector), Helen Gallagher (HRDirector, Retail and Corporate Banking)

and Suzanne Hughes (HR Director,Policy, Employee Relations andEngagement).

As an aside, Linda’s first objective as General Secretary was for Advance (then ANGU) to join the TUC as anindependent trade union. Lord Monkswas the person that she approached.Advance was the first small independenttrade union to join the TUC followedby Halifax and the Nationwide.

The second day of the seminaropened with a presentation from LindaRolph and Barbara Hobday on theimportance of partnership. Thisincluded a focus on what happens whenpartnership breaks down with examplessuch as the industrial action which tookplace in British Airways and the RMT.The consensus was that poor industrialrelations was bad for both the staff andthe employer as it led to reputationaldamage in the eyes of the public. Byhaving a dialogue between all parties thisled to smoother industrial relations andgreater ease in dispute resolution.

This was followed by Nita Clarke andDerek Luckhurst (Training Director,Involvement and ParticipationAssociation) giving a review of the workof the Employee Engagement Taskforceand what it aims to achieve. He also gavea review of Advance’s achievements sincepresenting its previous two-year plan.This review included looking at thesuccesses of training members of ourrepresentative base on a variety of tradeunion roles such as representingmembers at different types of hearings,

deepening their knowledge onSantander UK’s policies and the bestways of recruiting new members. Therewas a general consensus that Advancehad come a long way in developing ourrepresentative base and had lived up tothe aspiration of our previous conference,“Creating the best”. He also focussed onAdvance’s next two-year plan and ways

in which we would achieve the ongoinggrowth of our trade union.

David’s presentation was directlylinked to the group exercises thatfollowed in which the Advancedelegation was split into several groups,each of which was tasked with focussingon 2 areas of Advance’s next 2-yearstrategic plan. Each group presented itsfindings and a discussion followed. NitaClarke chaired the feedback from thisexercise. This was followed by each ofAdvance’s Area Committees having theirown meeting (chaired by their respectiveNEC representative).

Advance raised over £600 for 2charities, Barnardos and the NSPCC.This will be matched by Santander,giving a grand total of £600 per charity.We also received some fabulous prizesfor our raffle from Linda, her seniorteam and Santander which included atee-shirt signed by Lewis Hamilton andJenson Button, a helmet signed by LewisHamilton and a Red Letter day.

Feedback from those who attendedthe conference was given to Linda andher senior team and this confirmed thateverybody present at the seminar feltthat it was a substantial success. Manyrepresentatives stated that it had inspiredthem to fulfil their obligations to ourmembers. All recognised the importanceof working in partnership withSantander UK to make this happen.

Above all, everybody presentcommitted themselves fully to theunderlying theme of making Advancebigger, better, stronger.

“BEING AN ADVANCE REP ENABLES ME TOSPEAK TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE RIGHTPLACES, ENSURING THAT OUR MEMBERS AREGETTING THE BEST OUT OF THEIR MEMBERSHIP”ALAN O’SULLIVAN, BANKING HALL CO-ORDINATOR, BIRMINGHAM UNION STREET

REP CHATWhat is your name?Maria Maleki

What is your job title? Branch Manager, South Kensington

What is your role in Advance?I am an Area Representative for London and theSouth-East. In my role I keep in touch regularlywith other representatives from other areas. Weshare the best practices, to not only improve ourknowledge and experience, but also to respond to our members’ enquiries more effectively andefficiently. I also attend most of monthly andquarterly meetings with our high-levelmanagement, to discuss any issues and concernsthat have been raised by our members and alsodiscuss our policies within Santander to make our bank a better place to work. I go to visit ourmembers in their branches to understand theirconcerns and issues. I also attend as manyacademies as I can to see our new recruits.

What are the most common issues that yourAdvance members face?The most common issues that I have dealt with are: • IRP’s and treating them as a way out, where this

document should have been treated moreeffectively with the right level of training andsupport from line managers.

• Moving staff from one branch to another withouttheir consultation.

• Allocating all Saturdays shift to staff who areback from maternity which put more pressure on those staff.

What websites do you use when not at work?I would like to pretend I study a lot of data on a regular basis on sites to do with physics andastronomy and such like... (he he!) but the fact is I actually look at a lot of fashion websites and myfavourites are Karen Millen and Hobbs. Of course, I do look at competitor banks on daily basis tocompare our products and improve my knowledgecommercially.

What do you like about your role in Advance?The Rep toolkit that was incorporated into ourtraining has been extremely useful for me, both tounderstand the partnership between Santanderand Advance. It enhances my understanding of

staff and members’ requirements and also addsvalue to my position as a Branch Manger. I also feelmotivated to make a difference not only for mystaff but also for our employees.

How do you relax?I like to visit new places and go to museums,especially the V&A. I also enjoy walking in the park.

Why do you believe that employees should join Advance?Joining Advance added lots of value to my work. It also gave me the support I needed to do my jobbetter via accessing the helpline between 9am and5pm, Monday to Friday. Advance’s main goal is toensure all our members treated with dignity andfairness at their work place. If you have anyproblem at work it makes sense to have someoneon your side. Advance provides support andrepresentation on all work-related issues. Advancehave always negotiated to improve your pay andcondition and get a fair deal in all areas of youworking life. Advance helps to ensure job securityas the union can voice your concerns.

If you had one work-related wish that could cometrue, what would that wish be?To make Santander the best place to work, whereeveryone feels valued and are able to make adifference.

What papers do you read?The Daily Mail and Grazia magazine.

“I GO TO VISIT OUR MEMBERS IN THEIR BRANCHES TOUNDERSTAND THEIR CONCERNS AND ISSUES”

Maria Maleki

Need help at work? Contact the Advance helpline 01442 891 122

Advance Winter 2011

Documents

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advance election update

advance takes thisissue

later2 advance magazine

people toimprove

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people areworking

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