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| Collective Consultation process | Changes to Terms & Conditions | Support for you | Employee Representatives | Shore POPC and GIP Q&Ass |
Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated |08:30 Monday 17 August
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Collective Consultation process
Why are we going into collective consultation?
It’s clear that COVID-19 and its impacts are yet to be fully realised and, in a world where our operations may be paused for many more months, the action we’ve taken so far will not be enough to sustain and protect our business for the future.
We need to plan for the worst, reprioritise, and create a new understanding of what’s essential to the business and what’s not. We must continue to focus on and preserve our resources for continued support of compliant, environmentally sound and safe operations. But, on behalf of your employer, we have to make changes to our organisation and to our ways of working to build a stable platform from which both brands and Carnival UK can re-emerge in the future.
As a result of this, we’ll be talking to you formally about proposed changes to terms and conditions of employment that will assist in preserving cash flow at a time when the business has had little to no income for some months. Due to the number of colleagues we need to talk to, we are legally obliged to enter a period of collective consultation.
What are we going into collective consultation about?
We will be consulting with you specifically about some proposed changes to your reward and benefit structure, which will help us weather the temporary pause in operations, and the financial impact that will continue to have on the business for the mid to long term. We’ll be giving more detail on 17 August about how this may impact you.
Our Learning and Development team will be providing a series of webinars and other online resources, designed to support different groups of people. Topics will range from practical subjects, such as budgeting and finance to personal wellbeing and understanding the emotional journey at times of change. A schedule of sessions will be shared each week to let you know what is available, and when.
What are the details of the proposal that we are consulting on?
At the moment, we can’t share further details. That’s because we need to ensure the message is delivered in the right way, and that those potentially impacted individuals are spoken to on a 1-2-1 basis. Once we’ve got Employee Representatives in place for consultation to begin on 17 August, we’ll be able to share more details about the proposal and how this may impact you.
How will colleagues on leave be communicated with?
Colleagues on annual leave, Furlough leave, maternity or sick leave will be contacted with the same information; it’s important that everyone potentially impacted by the proposals are included in the consultation. That means we’ll be utilising a range of communication platforms to make sure absolutely everyone who needs to see information, sees it.
As the consultation period progresses, will our suggestions and proposals be considered?
We want to have a meaningful consultation period allowing for anyone to bring forward their queries and suggestions; queries will be collated and escalated through collective consultation meetings. You’ll also be able to raise individual queries at individual consultation meetings so there are plenty of opportunities for you to ask questions and have them responded to.
How will you ensure that everyone is represented?
As with our previous consultation we’ll be talking to you in both a collective and individual capacity about these proposals so we can ensure that our plans are built in an inclusive and transparent way, giving you an opportunity to share your thinking and ideas. We’ll be seeking Employee Representatives to nominate themselves to represent the approx. 40 shore based colleagues throughout the consultation. You can find out more about the role of the Employee Representative here.
Will you be talking to me individually, as well as via my Employee Representative?
Yes. We’ll be holding individual consultation meetings with everyone who we are proposing will see a proposed change to their terms and conditions.
Where should I direct any questions I might have during the consultation period?
Once the Employee Representatives are known, you should direct your query to your Employee Representative who will respond, share or escalate as needed.
As a line manager, I’m not clear what I should and shouldn’t be talking to my teams about in relation to the consultation?
We’re doing everything we can to ensure line managers feels supported through what’s a really difficult time for people and their leaders. At each key milestone of the consultation, we’ll be providing a briefing pack for managers which includes key messages, policy information, Questions and Answers, and suggested scripts/letter templates.
Outside of those conversations, you should continue to check in with your team members as normal on their day-to-day tasks and their personal welfare.
Throughout the consultation period you’ll need to hold formal meetings with your team members; we’ll guide you through when those need to happen, what they need to include, and ensure you’re supported with those conversations.
Changes to Terms & Conditions
When is it proposed that the proposals will take effect?
It’s our intention to start consultation on 17 August; the proposal is that the change won’t come into effect until 1 November 2020.
Support for you
What support is available to help me through this period?
We know that this is a very worrying time for many people and we have lots of tools and resources in place to help you. As well as talking to your line manager, you can search The Insider for information and training resources on mental health, financial planning and resilience. Validium, our Employee Assistance Programme, also offers confidential employee support on a wide range of topics:
Am I entitled to any legal representation ?
The Employee Representatives are acting on behalf of the group being collectively consulted with. At the 1-2-1 consultation meetings (should they be needed), you are entitled to be accompanied by a workplace colleague or union member (if you are a member of a union). If any member of the group wishes to seek legal representation this would be at their own cost; they are not permitted to have legal representation at any meetings however, meetings can be adjourned at any time if you need to seek legal advice.
Employee Representatives
Employee Representatives will have a key role in collecting queries and proposals and ensuring these are passed to the business for consideration, and responded to. They will be responsible for attending collective consultation meetings and raising queries on your behalf. We’ll be publishing minutes of the collective consultation meetings and feeding back to you throughout the consultation period.
The population of staff being consulted is approx. 40, and therefore we would like two employee representatives to represent this population.
Yes – once we have confirmation of who are in the role of Employee Representative, we’ll be delivering training to them between 13 and 14 August.
When will we know who Employee Representatives are?
We’ve sent out a broad communication on 29 July confirming our intention to begin formal collective consultation on 17 August 2020. On 29 July we asked for employees to nominate themselves for the role of Employee Representative and we’ve asked for interest to be received by 5 August. If we have more nominations than are required, we’ll be asking you to vote for Employee Representatives from 5 – 10 August, before we confirm names of Representatives on 12 August.
When Employee Representatives put forward our suggestions how do they get taken forward?
These are shared as part of the collective consultation process and reviewed by the business which involves input from several different stakeholders and reviewed to ensure each request is considered.