Why ‘business as usual’ has been bad news for Prospect members in BT

BT is continuing to attack pay and jobs and is proposing changes to redundancy terms, despite employees’ dedication to keeping the UK connected during the COVID-19 crisis.

Unlike much of the economy, which has been closed down or severely restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic, BT has almost felt like business as usual over the past three months.

The vast majority of Prospect members have moved to home working and the company recently announced that those who can work from home should continue to do so until the end of August.

Notwithstanding the effective shutdown of the BT office estate, Prospect members in BT have been at the forefront of keeping the country connected at a time when remote working has become the new normal for many workers.

In the context of our members in BT working so hard to maintain business continuity and the delivery of a vital public service, a couple of decisions taken by the company of late do not appear to reciprocate the commitment shown by our members.

No pay rise

The first of these was the decision to abruptly terminate pay negotiations with the union and announce that there would be no annual award in 2020 for the manager grades covered by Prospect.

Furthermore, this became a particularly divisive decision when the company announced it would be awarding a pay increase of 1.5% for team members. Understandably, this approach has not been well received by members, who are frequently told they are part of “One BT” and working collaboratively for a common purpose.

Prospect is determined not to let this matter lie and will continue to consult with members on how we challenge the company on this issue.

Part of the company’s rationale for not paying an annual award was that it would continue to pay bonuses to those who qualified.

While this offered some reassurance to members, it should be remembered that bonuses are based on both company and personal performance measures. Therefore, they should be paid out if those measures are met. At the time of writing members were still waiting to hear what the level of bonus would be.

Redundancies continue

Another contentious issue has been redundancies within BT. Although BT made a public statement that no one would be made redundant as a result of COVID-19 – at least until the end of June – it has continued with redundancies in areas where reorganisations had already been underway prior to the pandemic.

Despite several pleas from Prospect to defer these redundancies, the company decided to push ahead. While those impacted were relatively small in number, the effect of enforcing redundancies at this time does not reflect well on BT.

Attack on payments

Finally, BT has just announced a review of redundancy payments in the company.  Such announcements are always a matter for concern, not least because such a review rarely sees them being improved.

In the context of BT it is particularly concerning, given that the current terms were agreed two years ago and have only been in operation for the past 18 months, with the advent of the People Framework reorganisation.

The current terms came about as part of a commitment made to members by BT when the company decided to close the defined benefit pension scheme.

Prospect’s view is that the reorganisation policy has worked relatively well during the People Framework changes by minimising compulsory redundancies to almost zero.

The level of enhanced voluntary redundancy (EVR) payments has enabled those who were content to leave the business to do so on acceptable terms, while at the same time creating opportunities for those who wish to remain with BT.

As throughout the whole economy, the coronavirus pandemic has increased pressure on BT in relation to future job opportunities, making the chance of being redeployed less likely.

To seek to change the terms after only two years does not appear justified. It will increase uncertainty and anxiety among those affected in what are already unprecedented times.

We have written to BT calling for transparency and proper negotiations with the union before making any changes.

We can see no good reason for changing the current terms – unless BT wants to improve them, of course.

John Ferrett is national secretary for the union’s BT and Digital divisions