Bank of Scotland owner replaces union for senior staff

Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) — parent firm of Bank of Scotland, Scottish Widows and Halifax — will stop recognising the trade union membership of its highest-paid employees.

LBG will replace negotiations with staff unions Unite and Accord with “people forums.”

Unite’s national officer Caren Evans said: “This is not our decision; it is the bank’s.” Accord general secretary Ged Nichols said the agreement “was Hobson’s choice.”

In a memo sent to all staff LBG, which has about 60,000 employees, said it had “reached a new agreement” with trade unions Unite and Accord.

The company is introducing three “new colleague forums to replace our current collective union agreement.”

The memo said the move comes as Lloyds enters a new “skills agreement” with Accord and Unite to “address the challenges from shifting customer demands, technological advancements and changes in the world of work.”

The changes will affect staff in higher-paid jobs in “grades D-G”, 80% of whom were not members of either union, the banking group said.

Lloyds said the group is adapting to “continue to meet our customers’ ever evolving needs” and was working closely with the unions to implement the changes from January.

“We’ve agreed new arrangements with Accord and Unite, following industry best practice, that will mean fairer representation across all colleagues, including for those who are not union members.”

The bank said the changes would help it to “continue to be an enjoyable, highly productive and rewarding place to work”.

Lloyds will from January introduce a “People Forum” made of up of 16 unelected members who will be consulted by management on “strategic matters related to our business”.

The bank will also introduce a “People Consultation Forum” made up of 28 elected members who will be consulted on “organisation change, health and safety arrangements” and pension plans.

It will also bring forward a “Management Advisory Forum” of 17 elected staff to “provide feedback” to management.

Accord general secretary Nichols said union membership had fallen as a result of acquisitions and branch closures as well as recruitment in the less heavily unionised tech sector.

Nichols said “Independent trade unions can provide more for employees than employer-led forums will ever be able to …

“The risk was we’d lose the recognition arrangements through all of the workforce …”

Nichols said: “Since Accord was formed back in the late 1970s, we’ve looked after employees in all grades in the banks we’ve had recognition with. So this is the biggest setback in recognition terms.”

Unite’s Evans added: “Unite is clear that it is only through a trade union that staff will have an independent voice and benefit from the years of experience and insight from the finance sector to secure the best possible pay, terms, and conditions and to protect jobs.”

She said it was “important to recognise that these changes have not come about because Unite the union wanted to alter the Lloyds Banking Group trade union agreement and who it covered”.

She added: “Above all, Unite values the importance and benefit of an independent trade union.”

A Lloyds spokesman confirmed: “We’re transforming our organisation so we can continue to meet our customers’ ever-evolving needs.

“As part of this, we’ve agreed new arrangements with Accord and Unite, following industry best practice, that will mean fairer representation across all colleagues, including for those who are not union members.

“We’re working collaboratively with Accord and Unite to implement these new arrangements that will be effective from January 2025, helping Lloyds Banking Group to continue to be an enjoyable, highly productive and rewarding place to work.”

Nichols added that although the change was a setback for unions, he did not think the motivation was “union-bashing” because “in fairness to Lloyds they’ve never been an anti-union company”.