Branch Network - Working Hours
We continue to be concerned by the number of members in the branch network who are contacting us about proposed changes to their working hours and we are talking to Retail Management about some of the inappropriate approaches that are being adopted by managers.
I can confirm that a review of opening hours is currently being carried out, BUT no decisions have been reached and in the event that it is decided that opening hours need to be considered this will be done in full consultation with both the individual branch employees and the Union. Graeme Hughes, DD Branch Network told us: “We may want to change some of the opening hours in some locations, but we’ve not reached any conclusions yet, so I do not expect any of the Area Directors or Branch Managers to be taking unilateral action. There are a whole host of issues to be considered and this must be done in the right way, involving all of the interested parties.”
We have also talked to Graeme about employees being told that they have to change their hours of work and his response was: “The wellbeing of our employees is very important to Nationwide and we must balance this with the ever increasing demands placed on us by our customers. Our aim is to encourage a “give and take” culture where managers and employees work together to ensure our customer’s needs are fulfilled and our business objectives are achieved whilst making sure our employees feel that they have flexibility to enjoy an acceptable work / life balance. It makes commercial sense that where possible time off in lieu (TOIL) is used however no one should feel they have been forced into this option and where this is not possible the appropriate overtime payment should be made.”
Any member who feels that they are being pressurised into change unfairly should contact HR Services or the Union immediately.
This is our first e-newsletter for a few months but we’ll be using this method of communicating with members more during 2009. In these uncertain times I know that members want to hear more from the Union about the work we are involved in. 
The NGSU Forum is our online chat room. A growing number of Union members are finding the Forum to be an important resource for sharing views and ideas about work and also to alert the Union to issues affecting them. But it's not just about work - the Forum chat covers a wide range of topics from pop festivals to the latest sports news.
The TUC has calculated that 5.24 million people across the UK worked unpaid overtime in 2008, bringing its total value across the UK to a record £26.9 billion - the highest number since records began in 1992.