POST OFFICE: AGREEMENT FOR A REVISED CROWN OFFICE INCENTIVE SCHEME

Branches will be aware an integral part of our two year Collective Agreement on Pay (refer to LTB 600/18) was the agreed principle of introducing a new Incentive Scheme for Crown Office members.

Specifically the pay Agreement provided for a one-off £100 payment to each Crown member (both full-time and part-time) as a lead-in payment for introducing the new scheme and ceasing the current scheme. The exact wording from the pay letter was as follows:

“A one-off £100 payment to DMB colleagues on agreement of a new annual incentive scheme”

I am pleased to report that after a number of meetings we have now reached an Agreement for a new Incentive Scheme which we believe will provide our members with a better and fairer opportunity to achieve improved bonus payments. Payments in the previous scheme had started to fall away and the scheme needed to be radically overhauled which is what we have done.

Our members will identify with and welcome the move away from a narrow sales based Incentive Scheme to one that is predicated by overall office income. This will help to take away the pressure to sell and promote certain products and services, with the emphasis now being on total Crown Office Income (which crucially includes revenue from all mails products for both letters and parcels) and excellent Customer Service.

Crown Office Members – Consultative Ballot

The new Incentive Scheme Agreement has been unanimously endorsed by the Postal Executive at its statutory meeting today and will now be the subject of a consultative ballot of Crown Office members for ratification. The ballot timetable is as follows:

• Ballot papers despatched Wednesday 9th January 
• Ballot closes Friday 21st January 

Assuming membership ratification, the “lead-in” payment of £100 (for both full-time and part-time members) will be made with the January salaries.

Key Mechanics and Principles of the new Incentive Scheme:

• The new scheme applies retrospectively from 1st April 2018 and each Crown will receive a payment based upon its own performance in regard to Customer Service, which means that members can directly and positively influence the outcome. 
• The scheme provides for an annual payment of up to £1000 for on-target performance (this is the same as the previous scheme). Lesser amounts can be earned for performance below target based upon incremental steps. The £100 one-off “lead-in” payment is on top of the £1000 maximum payment for this year. 
• Annual Payment: We have moved away from the traditional quarterly payments to an annual payment to be paid in May 2019. This mirrors the arrangements in operation for our Admin & Supply Chain members. 
• Equal Payment for Full and Part-Time Members: Importantly, we have maintained the principle that payments will not be pro-rata for part-timers. 
• Eligibility Rules: ‘Good leavers’ (e.g. Voluntary Redundancy via MTSF, ill health, TUPE and Settlement Agreements) will receive a pro-rata payment based upon the period of time worked during the financial year. This is extremely important due to the number of franchises due to take place in the coming months. 
• Two Targets:

o 1. Total Income Target (Gateway): If an individual Crown hits 95% – 100% of its Total Income Target it will have achieved the “Gateway” and members within that Crown Office are eligible to receive up to a maximum of £1000 depending on the Crown Office’s Customer Driver Score (see Table 1 below).

o 2. Customer Driver Score: Providing the above Gateway has been achieved, the payment will then be calculated based on the Customer Driver Score (each Crown will have their own individual score). Threshold performance begins with a Customer Driver score of 90% (if 90% is not achieved there will be no payment), with incremental steps of 1% with a commensurate increase in payments as follows:

Table 1 – Total Income Target Gateway Reached = Maximum Payment Achievable is £1000

• If a Crown Office achieves 90%-95% of the Total Income Target it will not have hit the Gateway, but members are still eligible to receive 50% of the incremental payments (i.e. up to a maximum of £500 instead of the £1000) depending on the Crown Office’s Customer Driver Score (see Table 2 below). An example would be achieving only 90% of the Total Income target but a 98% Customer Driver Score. This will result in an annual payment of £425 (50% of the £850).

Table 2 – Gateway of 95% of Total Income NOT Reached = Max Payment Achievable is £500

£125 of the Incentive Scheme Payment (in Lieu of Q1 2018) has Already Been Paid

In July last year we reached an agreed interim position with the Post Office to bridge the time between closing the old Sales Incentive Scheme and finalising and communicating the details of the new scheme. This led to a ‘one off’ payment of £125 (including part-timers) in lieu of a payment for Q1 2018/19 being made with July 2018 salaries. It was agreed that this interim payment would be “netted off” against any final payment (made in May 2019) for the full year once a new scheme had been agreed.

Conclusion

It is important to note that if a Crown Office achieves 90% or greater of the Total Income Target and 90% or greater of the Customer Driver Score,members will receive an Incentive Scheme payment of some kind.I am therefore confident that the mechanics of this new Agreement will lead to improved payments for our members in comparison to the previous scheme.

In closing, I would like to thank all Crown Office members for their patience whilst these negotiations have taken place. To confirm, if the new Incentive Scheme is endorsed by the members, the £100 “lead-in” payment will be made with January salaries.

Further developments will be reported.

If you have any questions in relation to this LTB, please contact Lea Sheridan – lsheridan@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary

19LTB008 Post Office – Agreement for a Revised Crown Office Incentive Scheme