The result of the second 2019 Northern Ireland pay ballot is as follows:

For: 78%
Against: 22%
Spoilt: 0%

We have communicated the result to the company.

Thank you to everyone who voted and the local workplace reps for the hard work they put in running the ballot.

Following the rejection of AXA’s pay offer for staff in Northern Ireland in the recent pay ballot we re-engaged with management to try and come up with a proposition that our members would find acceptable.

Feedback from you overwhelmingly focused on the inequities in terms and conditions, especially those in the Derry Service Centre and the rest of Northern Ireland. Whilst the company had indicated a willingness to engage on this later in the year, it was clear to us that you wanted to see some progress now.

After further negotiations with AXA yesterday, we are pleased to advise that they have agreed to the following as part of their 2019 pay offer:

1. Under the company sick pay scheme, absence will now be paid at full pay once length of service requirements have been completed. This means that the first three days will no longer be unpaid nor days four and five only paid at the statutory sick pay rate.
2. Terms and conditions review negotiations for Northern Ireland will commence in October of this year.

Unite in AXA are pleased with the improvements that have been offered as this will have an immediate benefit for a large number of members and feel that, combined with the increased pay spend in Northern Ireland of 3%, this revised offer is one we can recommend to members to accept as the best that can be achieved through negotiation.

Unite will ballot members across Northern Ireland the week commencing 3^rdJune 2019.

The result of the 2019 Northern Ireland pay ballot is as follows:

For: 37%
Against: 63%
Spoilt: 0%

We have communicated the result to the company and are now looking to re-engage with them.

Thank you to everyone who voted and the local workplace reps for the hard work they put in running the ballot.

Based on a 72% return of ballot papers issued, the result of the 2018 pay ballot is as follows:

For: 71%
Against: 29%
Spoilt: 0%

We have communicated this to the company…

Thank you to everyone who voted and the local workplace reps for the hard work they put in running the ballot.

Joint Statement from AXA and Unite

This statement tells you the overall pay budget (how much AXA has to spend on salaries) and framework (how AXA will spend it) for 2019. This is negotiated between AXA and Unite for Associate to Professional bands and applies to all AXA Insurance and Corporate Centre employees.

Overall Budget

This year’s talks have concluded with an offer of a 3% increase for the total pay budget for employees in Associate to Professional bands. The same budget will apply to the Senior Professional to Senior Leader bands. Whilst the overall increase to the budget will be shared across all eligible employees, individual increases will vary based on the circumstances set out below. Any pay increases will take effect from 1 April 2019. 

Associate to Professional Pay Approach

Pay awards will be made to employees in these roles based on performance rating and position of salary in the pay range. The % amounts are set in order to be able to make larger awards to high performers and those lower in the pay ranges, while also remaining within the overall budget. 

Individual outcomes will be formally communicated to employees in March. Further information about how pay is distributed using the matrix can be found on the Manager Area on ONE.

Senior Professional to Senior Leader Pay Approach

Managers who are responsible for pay decisions for the pay review process (also known as Pool Heads) will have full discretion to set pay awards within the overall budget for employees in Senior Professional to Senior Leader roles. These decisions are made in the context of a range factors including individual performance, the external market and comparable pay between peers.

Future Changes to Pay and Bonus Approach

Following the recent changes made to AXA’s bands and pay ranges, it has been decided that Professionals will move into the discretionary approach (currently applied to Senior Professionals and above) for pay and bonus awards paid next year (2020). 

In implementing this change AXA will pay particular attention to ensuring fairness remains at the forefront of pay and bonus decisions and, as with any change, the approach will be subject to review to ensure it is meeting the objectives that have been set down for it.

Other Adjustments

AXA UK’s minimum salary will be increased to £16,380 (based on a 35 hour FTE contract). There are no other changes to pay ranges.

There are some local pay arrangements, like the AXA Insurance Claims Development Framework, which are managed outside of this process.

There’s more information on the pay review process on the My Pay & Benefits pages on ONE.

Next steps

Unite will ballot its members on this offer, with the ballot taking place between the 11th and 20^thFebruary.

Please speak to your line manager or Unite representative if you have any questions.

Unite the Union met with representatives of AXA today and submitted a 3.5% pay claim on behalf of the bargaining unit.

Further negotiation meetings have been scheduled for this month.

The 2019 Unite in AXA pay survey can be accessed here.