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Openreach: Bank Holiday Roster Credits

12 January 2007

Openreach have been running a trial aimed at removing inconsistencies in the way people are allocated credit for Bank Holidays. This particularly affected Night Workers who were rostered to attend for shifts that overlapped a Bank Holiday 24-hour period.

Openreach believe there have been different approaches to this issue in different localities. In many, people have simply been 'stood down' for the parts of shifts immediately before and after the Bank Holiday. For them, the major change was that instead of being 'stood down', they were required to book leave.

Openreach intends introducing the new standard approach from 1 April 2008.

Key Principles of the new process:

• A person will not normally be expected to work any part of a shift that crosses into or out of a Bank Holiday unless required to for Operational reasons.
• For each Bank Holiday each person must receive time off or a Bank Holiday credit to the value of one shift, at their average day length.
• It may not always be necessary for those scheduled in on a Bank Holiday to attend. Individuals will be notified whether they are required to attend or stood down. Individuals will not normally be "stood down" during non-Bank Holiday time.
• When a person is rostered in for both attendances and does not wish to work any part of either attendance they require, usually, 24 hours off of which 12 is Bank Holiday and 12 is annual Leave.
• When a person is rostered off for one and in for the other this process and correct timesheet booking will balance the hours so the person will not work and will not have used any annual leave.
• This process offers equality for ALL Openreach staff regardless of attendance pattern.

The CWU Executive team continues to have concerns as the arrangements for night working could mean people having to utilise leave to get a 24-hour break for each and every Bank Holiday. This would be manifestly unfair. Also under the Network Operations Attendance Agreement, it is explicitly stated that there is no requirement for scheduling attendances commencing on a Sunday.

• People who were forced to take leave around the Christmas/New Year Bank Holiday should have this restored by raising the matter with the line manager. Similarly, there should not be a need to book leave for the hours immediately before and after the Easter Bank Holiday.