The deadline for Lloyds Banking Group IT contractors to
accept a new pay deal has passed but the bank has given no
details of the outcome.
Last month the bank e-mailed IT contractors telling them their
pay was to be cut by 15%. The bank told contractors to accept the
offer or leave.
The e-mail, which was leaked to Computer Weekly, was sent on 19
June and contractors were given until 20 July to accept the changes
or leave.
Computer Weekly contacted the bank, but it refused to give
details of how many contractors accepted the deal.
"We wouldn't offer any comment on this other than what we said
when we made the announcement. That is, like any major employer, we
constantly monitor pay rates to ensure they are in line with the
market and our competitors and in recent months the market rates
for IT contractors have decreased. This means that from 18 July we
reduced rates for some of our existing contractors by up to 15 per
cent, bringing us into line with many other organisations across
the industry that use contractors," said a spokesman for
Lloyds.
In the leaked e-mail to contractors, the bank blamed
"unprecedented volatility and extreme market conditions" in the UK
economy for the cuts. "This adjustment is not a reflection of the
perceived quality or value of your contributions to date, but is a
response to current market events and Lloyds' focus on cost
management," it said.
This view was supported by recruitment industry sources who said
there is a trend in all sectors for contractor pay cuts.
Following Lloyds TSB's decision to cut UK IT contractor pay by
15%, Royal Dutch Shell has made a similar take it or leave it
offer.
The oil company has offered UK IT contractors new deals with a
10% pay cut.
If you are affected by this please e-mail
karl.flinders@rbi.co.uk