Christmas and New Year Arrangements 2012/13

[POSTMAN]

No. 780/12 Ref. 170 206A.04 Date: 16th October 2012

To: All Branches with POSTAL Members

Dear Colleagues,

Christmas and New Year Arrangements 2012/13

Please find attached to this LTB the national agreement covering the Christmas Arrangements 2012 and New Year 2013 which was cleared with the Postal Executive at its statutory meeting today.

The discussions this year have been very straightforward and the only change to last year’s wording is contained in paragraph 3.5 which includes balancing employee aspirations and which we anticipate will adequately provide the flexibility to arrive at local agreement.

Local Christmas discussions/arrangements should ensure that agreed staffing arrangements are in place to meet these obligations in full, while balancing employee aspirations utilising a full range of resourcing options. Staff who attend will receive the normal bank holiday premium for hours worked on the bank holidays.

There are no USO non service days this year and normal Bank Holiday arrangements will apply.

We have acknowledged Royal Mail’s requirement to deliver the USO and consequential service requirements, and that this year there is again likely to be a significant number of packets in the system which will require special attention and adequate arrangements to be in place to cope with this increased demand. We believe that the wording of the agreement provides sufficient scope for this to be achieved and where difficulties are encountered then recourse to the IR framework is available.
Where general difficulties are encountered regarding Christmas arrangements then these should be progressed as soon as possible to Divisional level.

Any enquiries to Bob Gibson’s Office, quoting reference 170
Email Address: hnutley@cwu.org

Any enquiries to Terry Pullinger’s Office, quoting reference 206A.04
Email Address: dwyatt@cwu.org

Christmas Arrangements 2012


1 Introduction

This document summarises arrangements for Christmas 2012 and New Year 2013 based on the principles agreed for recent years. Robust staffing arrangements will be required during the Christmas period to ensure operational needs and USO obligations are covered in line with workload forecasts taking into account the aspirations of employees. It covers OPGs, OSGs, MGV drivers, Mail Screeners, MDECs, processing engineers scheduled to shift working, LAs whose conditioned hours attract assigned allowances and Network professional drivers as detailed below.
The 2004 Christmas agreement abolished claw back of hours arising from public, bank holidays and no service days and these arrangements remain in place for Christmas 2012/13.

Network professional drivers, Bank Holiday attendance arrangements will be made in line with the terms in the national agreement on the introduction of the professional driver and will be covered off separately.

2 Enhanced Operational Arrangements Christmas 2012

The following enhancements will operate in 2012. These are intended to address customer concerns and provide an improved service.

Extended Enquiry Offices Opening Times

There will be extended opening times from Monday 10 to Saturday 22 December. A national specification has been issued categorising each Delivery Office and the required opening times. Some units’ times will vary depending on experience of previous Christmases and taking fully into account local needs and knowledge.

Supplementary Packet Delivery Service and Re Delivery

Most Delivery offices will introduce supplementary packet deliveries where required from Monday 12 November until Monday 24 December;

A packet re delivery service may also operate on Sunday 23 December in addition to the supplementary service.

These supplementary packet delivery duties will form part of the normal local discussions covering Christmas arrangements and will take full account of local circumstances in ensuring sufficient resource to cover the workload. They will usually take place between 0700 – 1000 and 1500 – 2000 and no later than 2100 subject to the local discussions.

In all circumstances employee safety and the security of mail must be assured. Areas/Addresses identified as high risk e.g. deliveries suspended due to attacks, robberies or problem dogs etc will be excluded from receiving this additional service.


Sunday Collections

Can be made on 25 November 2012 and will be made on 2, 9 and 16 December 2012, although not an advertised service. Staffing will be on a voluntary basis and the operational arrangements agreed locally.




3 Attendance and Resourcing Arrangements

3.1 Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 December are the Christmas Day and Boxing Day Bank Holidays. There will be no USO collections or deliveries on these days

3.2 Tuesday 1 January 2013 is the designated New Year Bank Holiday (plus Wednesday 2 January in Scotland) There will be no USO collections or deliveries on 1 January (and 2 January in Scotland)

3.3 As agreed in 2004, people will not be required to make up hours they would have worked arising from the bank holidays or non USO days In line with normal bank holiday arrangements people who would normally be scheduled to work on the day of the Bank Holidays in the provision of USO collection and delivery services will not be required to attend (with the exception of some Network Professional Drivers) and not be required to make up the hours. (i.e. there will be no claw back)


3.4 Rest days will apply in line with normal year round arrangements. Attendances may be varied by local agreement to take account of workload forecasts and service requirements. Where workload requires people can volunteer to work their normal rest day in return for a day in lieu or scheduled attendance

Where a rest day falls on a Bank Holiday (i.e. 25, 26 December or 1 January, plus 2 January in Scotland) and it is not operationally sensible to transfer the rest day to another day in the same week people will receive an additional day holiday (including those working ‘a week off in six’ or other variations on this theme) in the form of a day in lieu or alternatively the excess hours can be taken as normal overtime

3.5 In order to comply with the USO, night shifts should normally resume at the scheduled time on 26 December and 1 January (2 January in Scotland). Local Christmas discussions/arrangements should ensure that agreed staffing arrangements are in place to meet these obligations in full, while balancing employee aspirations utilising a full range of resourcing options. Staff who attend will receive the normal bank holiday premium for hours worked on the bank holidays.

3.6 Weekend duty holders (notional full timers and people who make three or less attendances each week) will have separate scheduling arrangements based on the same principles as in previous years.

3.7 Local flexibility agreements and the National Pay and Modernisation agreement phase 3 annexes A and B will apply and be utilised during the Christmas period. Both parties will explore opportunities to give people time off where possible consistent with customer and operational requirements.

4 Christmas Bonus Supplement

The Christmas bonus supplement of £100 for full time OPG and OSGs (pro-rated for part timers) will be paid on Friday 21 December. The eligibility criteria for the Christmas bonus payment will be the same as last year, based on the four December weeks (commencing 26 November). In the unlikely event of any industrial action the abatement criteria will be drawn from the PBS agreement.





5 Scheduled Attendances

Scheduled attendance rates can be paid for pre-scheduled overtime worked during the Christmas period. These do not attract paid meal breaks.

6 Local discussions

Discussions with local CWU representatives should ensure Christmas arrangements are concluded in line with national agreements. Details will be negotiated locally to secure reliable staffing, ensuring everyone has a fair and manageable workload, and will consider the following options

- People to work their normal rest day in return for a day in lieu or scheduled attendance/overtime.

- Pre-scheduling hours against forecast workload.

- Scheduled attendance or pressure overtime.

- Use of temporary / agency staff as supplementary resource.

- Attendance arrangements on Mondays 24 and 31 December which are not bank holidays or non USO days.

7 Pay Arrangements

The Christmas Pay Timetable is attached. .



Royal Mail CWU

October 2012





Pay dates during Christmas 2012

Pay dates and payroll processes remain the same for weekly paid employees, with current week basic pay, assigned allowances and previous week’s additional hours and ad hoc adjustments paid each Friday. Due to the impact of bank / public holidays on payroll operations, the following arrangements apply:

Weekly-Paid Contracted Employees

w/c 3rd December (pay date Friday 7th December)
• Regular Pay (Basic & assigned allowances)
• Overtime / SA / Ad hoc allowances performed w/c 26th November

w/c 10th December (pay date Friday 14th December)
• Regular Pay (Basic & assigned allowances)
• Overtime / SA / Ad hoc allowances performed w/c 3rd December

w/c 17th December (pay date Friday 21st December)
• Regular Pay (Basic & assigned allowances)
• Overtime / SA / Ad hoc allowances performed w/c 10th December
• Christmas Supplement

w/c 24th December (pay date Friday 28th December)
• Regular Pay (Basic & assigned allowances)
• Overtime / SA / Ad hoc allowances performed 17th – 20th December
Note: PSP will be closed for all changes from 2.00am Friday 21st December

w/c 31st December (pay date Friday 4th January 2013)
• Regular Pay (Basic & assigned allowances)
• Overtime / SA / Ad hoc allowances performed 21st – 27th December
Note: PSP will be closed for all changes from 2.00am Friday 28th.December

w/c 7th January 2013 (pay date Friday 11th January 2013)
• Regular Pay (Basic & assigned allowances)
• Overtime / SA / Ad hoc allowances performed 28th December – 6th January

Monthly-Paid Contracted Employees

Cut-off will be Sunday 16th December
Pay date will be Monday 24th December

[legind]

Would of been nice of them to give us Xmas eve (Mon 24th) off. Bet Moyas back in Canada by then

[Darren Bent]

Agreed as only day off we get is public bank holidays and sundays not Christmas eve

[DirtyHarry]

Royal Mail bosses have made this such a crap job, there's no pleasure in working on Christmas Eve.
Thank goodness, I feel an illness coming on, estimated time of arrival, Christmas Eve.

[PhilthyPhil]

Do you have a PDF of this agreement?

[fishtank]

Do you have a PDF of this agreement?

http://www.southdownsamal.com/content/C ... nt2012.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[PhilthyPhil]

Thanks

[banner18]

Thought we were getting a bigger xmas bonus from now on?

[PhilthyPhil]

Thought we were getting a bigger xmas bonus from now on?

We have already had the extra £100 this year so it will be £200 from next year

[POSTMAN]

Bump.