Successful resolution of Capita pay deal error following decisive CWU intervention

Telecoms & Financial Services March 31 2023

Over a hundred and fifty members across the Capita O2 and Tesco mobile partnerships have had their belated 2022 pay award recalculated after the union flagged up multiple underpayments to individuals who work fewer hours than the standard Capita 37.5 hour per week contracts.

The CWU’s intervention last month (see story here) followed a barrage of complaints from members who eagerly opened their pay slips to discover that either their rise and back-payments were less than expected or, in some instances, that no increase had been paid at all.

Most of those who’d been unwittingly short-changed were longer-serving employees on 36 hour (FTE) contracts who TUPE’d over from Telefonica nearly a decade ago, but the mistake also impacted especially badly on part-timers because their hourly increase had also been calculated on the basis of the 37.5 hour standard.

Following intensive discussions to establish exactly what had gone wrong a joint statement was issued by Capita chief operating officer Paul Stanfield and CWU national officer Tracey Fussey earlier this month.

“Following the 2022 pay review the CWU raised concern that errors had been made when paying the increase in December 200, which had left those not on a Capita standard contract of 37.5 hours per week at a detriment,” the joint statement reads.

“The 2022 pay negotiations were the first that gave a different pay increase dependent on current salary, seeing increases ranging between 6% and 8%.

“Following investigation, it was established that incorrect increases had been made as a consequence of the calculation used.

“Consequently, adjustments have been made to rectify this error and colleagues received any outstanding monies in February or, if not, will in March 2023.

“We thank everyone for their patience whilst this has been remedied.”

Extending her particular gratitude to the many members who alerted the CWU’s assistance to the error, Tracey Fussey told CWU News: “I’m glad to say that Capita has committed to adjust how its employees’ hours are recorded on its systems so that, if a similar differential increase occurs in the future, the correct pay will be calculated first time round.

“It’s of paramount importance to the union that any collective agreement on pay applies to ALL members in the recognised bargaining unit without exception, and the CWU has also made it very clear that we don’t want to see another wholly unnecessary event of this nature occurring again.”

Tracey concludes: “We are shortly to commence pay discussions for 2023 – hence it was important for both Capita and ourselves that this matter was resolved.”