Prospect supporting members through ‘devastating’ E.ON job losses

Prospect will be engaging with the employer and has pledged to support its members to secure the best possible outcomes, following E.ON’s announcement that it is cutting approximately 700 jobs.

The proposals mainly relate to staff working on the residential and small and medium enterprises side of the business, where a new customer service IT platform is being introduced in the wake of E.ON’s merger with npower.

It is proposed that there will be reductions of approximately 675 managerial and support roles by the time customers have been fully migrated to the new platform in 2022.

Steve Thomas, Prospect national secretary, said:

“While the expectations of a job loss programme have been in place since the merger and migration of the business, this remains devastating news and the timing, in the run up to Christmas and during a pandemic, could not have been worse.”

Prospect’s full-time officers and lay representatives will now be seeking more detail on the proposals to examine the business case and the impact on roles and grades that Prospect members work in as well as engaging in joint consultation across the business.

Prospect will also be pressing for clarity on selection criteria and asking for meaningful commitments to avoid compulsory redundancies as well as maintaining existing enhanced selective voluntary severance (SVS) packages that have in part enabled significant changes in the past.

Steve Thomas added:

“This news will be devastating to members who have worked tirelessly for their customers, colleagues and the business. It reflects in no small part concerns expressed by the union to Ofgem about the wider consequences of significant pressures in the energy retail sector, including for jobs and for investor confidence.”

“The unsustainable and volatile position of the retail market, which overlooks the wider role played by large suppliers in supporting in-house adaptations, will undoubtedly impede the ability to reach climate reduction targets or support a Green Recovery.”