LOCAL MAIL CENTRE - FLEXIBILITY PLAN
The Local Flexibility Plan to be agreed between the Local Manager and CWU Representative as stated in the Pay and Modernisation Agreement must meet the following objectives:
Provide the best possible customer service, continue to offer reasonable local earnings levels, improve efficiency and company profitability, create a more flexible working environment where the aspirations of employees and the company can be more easily met, improve the local relationship between Royal Mail and CWU, actively encourage the participation of employees in supporting change, effective workload alignment and reduce the use of agency and casual staff.
A number of Enablers have been agreed Nationally to assist each Unit to meet the above objectives:
Enabler - Longs and shorts - a structural change where the normal work pattern may be rebalanced across the week to reflect the traffic profile. For example individuals could be scheduled to work 7 hours on a Tuesday and 9 hours on a Friday. Total weekly contractual hours would not change.
Considerations and Suggested Activities Assess the workload and traffic volumes by stream to identify the hours required daily. Assess whether Longs and Shorts duties would better align work hours to traffic/workload. Identify if there are any process change requirements. These attendance patterns are already deployed within the Mail Centre. It is agreed that we will jointly review our staffing base against forecast and where necessary we will trial new longs and short duties eg, 5 x AG duties to work Monday 1330 -2130 Tuesday – Friday 1830 – 2130 to support Monday workload. 10 x F/T early duties to start 0400 Wednesday to support night shift workload and clearance, Saturday start time will be 0700. Numbers to be reviewed at SI meetings. Create and jointly agree new duty sets where appropriate. Deploy process changes and new duty arrangements. Review quarterly the success of the changes/benefits. |
Enabler - Variation of hours - Where necessary, for example when trafficvolumes are unexpectedly high or resourcing issues arise, individuals may be asked and may themselves request to vary their duty times by up to 30 minutes on a swings and roundabouts basis. Again, individual circumstances will be taken into account and total weekly contractual hours would not change.
Considerations and Suggested Activities Establish a fair and robust process to consider how unforeseen increases in the normal workload are going to be covered. This process should also include how a manager or an employee should request a variation of hours should this be necessary and how reciprocal recovery of the time will take place within the individuals working week. The 30 minutes variation in duty will be required in exceptional circumstances, such as when traffic volumes are unexpectedly high, resourcing issues arise, or there are network failures, severe weather etc. Request by managers or staff for variation of up to 30 minutes in duty time should not be unreasonably refused. We will always take account of individual circumstances but flexibility will apply to all staff within the Mail Centre. The 30 minutes variation in any week will be exceptional and should normally be worked back or given back within the same week. Exceptionally the 30 minutes will flow through to the following week if it falls at the end of the previous week. Alternatively there will be the opportunity to bank the 30 minutes and take the time owed at a later date. It must be understood by everyone that the 30 minutes is an exceptional circumstance and it must not be expected that 30 minutes will be banked every week. Variation of hours process established and agreed. CWU Rep and Shift Manager to establish a regular review process to ensure arrangements are fair, robust and no individual is asked / requested to flex too frequently. |
Enabler - Use of new technology - full cooperation and support for trials and subsequent deployment of new technology will take place, for example: iLSMs, Walk Sequencing, RDC Automation, D2D Automation, Telemetry in area fleets, Handhelds, Collection Handshake and Materials Handling. There will also be early deployment of Flats Automation, Semi-Automation Packet Sorting and Delivery Method improvements.
Considerations and Suggested Activities Develop a Joint Communication Programme to ensure everyone is aware of the joint commitment regarding New Technology and how future trials and deployment will be managed in line with Nationally Agreed Generic Processes. It is agreed that there will be full co-operation and support for trials and subsequent deployment of any new technology. Joint plans are to be developed and communicated to staff and any training requirements to be identified. Future new technology likely to impact on the Mail Centre are: Flat sorting machine in Leeds. Walk sequencing machines in Mail Centre and DO’s. iLSM’s in Mail Centre. Communication Programme developed / agreed. Communication Programme delivered. |
Enabler - Efficient Summer staffing - each Unit will utilise the opportunity offered by reduced traffic volumes to re-arrange responsibilities during the summer period. This will offer employees additional opportunities for leave during the same period.
Considerations and Suggested Activities |
Analyse traffic flows and seasonal variations to assess the workload in the defined Summer period. Review the currently agreed Annual Leave Arrangements (e.g. current ceiling, reserve levels and/or Annual Leave groupings to explore how Leave arrangements can be maximised during the Summer period). Annual leave is currently flexed to workload variation and annual leave is maximised in summer months. We currently have Family friendly contracts and this will be extended to include Summer friendly contracts whereby staff will work additional hours during busy periods and will accrue additional leave during the summer leave period eg. 10 x F/T staff to take additional leave by banking 10 x 4hr blocks Monday evenings to support workload = 1 week extra leave. It is agreed that we will extend these contracts to 10 members of staff to accrue 2 weeks additional leave during summer. These additional blocks will be either Monday evening Tuesday afternoon or Saturday morning. All staff to be contracted to specific blocks that will be banked prior to additional leave being taken. Numbers to be reviewed at monthly SI meetings. Revised Annual Leave arrangements agreed. Communicate the new Annual Leave Plan. |
Enabler - Working in nearby offices - Areas will identify and agree with the CWU locally an approach (which could include the use of Volunteers and Reserves) to working in nearby offices within employees’ contracted hours which will include travel times and appropriate travel and subsistence arrangements.
Considerations and Suggested Activities Assess whether there is a foreseen requirement for employees to be available to work in nearby offices on occasions. Where the need is identified, establish an approach to ensure employees are available for this purpose. Appropriate training should be provided. The process should include travel and subsistence arrangements as necessary and ensure advance planning takes place at the Joint Resourcing Meeting to give people the maximum notification/warning. Requests will be made for volunteers and identify suitable reserves to work in other units. We will identify all training requirements and plan in advance for staff to go to other units. T and S payments will be paid where applicable. We already have Mail Centre staff who work for Bradford Hubs as and when required this will be extended further. Establish and agree an approach/process for working in nearby offices (including training). Jointly review to ensure arrangements are robust and fair. |
Enabler - Innovative Duty Structures: Units will take the opportunity to review existing duty structures and identify innovative approaches to meet the above objectives.
Considerations and Suggested Activities |
Review the current duty structures to assess whether there are any alternative innovative arrangements that may be of benefit to both the business and employees that still meets the joint objectives contained within the Pay and Modernisation Agreement. We currently have 4 day duties, 8 hr Sunday duties with flexibility to support the operation throughout the week and 20 flexible contracts. Following the joint review it is agreed that the 20 hr flexible reserves when required will take a day off through the week and work Saturday days to support workload. 3 / 4 x night duties for weekend network changes. This involves opening Saturday night closing Sunday day operation and full staffing Sunday night work. Due to the above we will be removing the notional weekend duties through VR or Buy down. Meal relief realignment on late shift. If identified agree and deploy new duty structures. Jointly review the success of the changes/benefits. |
Enabler - Doing other work within your office: On occasions staff may be asked to undertake other work outside their normal duties. Employees would be appropriately trained, properly equipped and safe ways of working will always be in place.
Considerations and Suggested Activities |
Review skills matrix and identify any gaps. Develop a Training Plan that supports the coverage of any gaps and ensure that people are appropriately trained to provide greater flexibility for coverage of workload. Ensure there is a Local process established to prevent any or the same individual being unnecessarily or unreasonably moved too often. The Mail Centre already performs this enabler. Following the joint review it is agreed to update the skills register in order to identify training requirements in particular machine operators. Volunteers to be sought and placed in a pool. Discussion to take place to agree a process whereby distribution and processing staff may work in either function when work is available or not in any function. Skills matrix updated, Training Programme and Local process in place. Jointly review to ensure arrangements are robust and fair. |
Walk Sequencing machines
