The Financial Services Union (FSU) has said it strongly opposes Bank of Ireland’s intention to link staff office attendance to performance ratings and that it plans to raise concerns about the collection and processing of staff swipe-in data with the Data Protection Commission.
Bank of Ireland said on Monday that staff could face disciplinary proceedings if they do not meet the lender’s minimum office attendance policy, introduced last year.
Most employees of the bank are required to attend the office for at least two days a week, or eight days a month, under the policy, which was criticised by the FSU last year.
In an email to staff on Monday, Bank of Ireland’s chief people officer Matt Elliott said that not enough staff are meeting the minimum requirements.
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To combat non-attendance, he said that from June, all swipe-in data for colleagues would be visible and reported on a monthly basis to line managers.
“This will show the number of days each month that each of us attends a Bank of Ireland office or hub,” Elliott said.
Attendance records will also be taken into account as part of employee performance assessments.
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“If any colleague is not meeting the minimum in-person requirement, they will receive a full year rating of ‘inconsistent’, unless the line manager deems there to be good reason,” Elliott said.
“As you know, performance rating impacts any bonus the group may award, and future pay increases.”
Failure to meet the attendance requirement can also result in disciplinary proceedings, “as it would for any matter of non-compliance”, he added.
“Our hybrid approach is market-leading in terms of flexibility,” Elliott continued.
“We also know that colleagues who are meeting the requirement have a more positive experience of what it is like to work here, with higher engagement. For these reasons, achieving consistency is essential, requiring this approach.”
In a text message sent to its members in Bank of Ireland on Monday, the FSU said it strongly opposes the crackdown.
“This is a serious departure from commitments previously given to the union by the bank, where they stated that they would not be monitoring any individual digital swipes,” the union said.
“We have data protection concerns about the collection, processing, and use of your individual swipe-in data for performance management and disciplinary purposes. We will be raising these matters with the Data Protection Commission and the Bank as a matter of urgency.”
When the new hybrid policy was announced last year, the FSU said the arrangements were problematic and went against the views of staff.
The union referred Bank of Ireland to the Workplace Relations Commission over the changes last August.
On Monday, the FSU told its Bank of Ireland members that it will “in good faith” attend an arbitration session scheduled for Tuesday, April 21st.
In the meantime, the union is asking staff to email Bank of Ireland’s human resources department and their line managers with their views on Monday’s developments.
