Staff have been told their bonus payments, holidays, pensions and even sick pay will be slashed under plans being drawn up following the takeover by Lloyds Banking Group.

However, senior executives will retain or even increase benefits for those on higher pay grades, despite announcing losses of £6.3billion last month.

A strike would cause major disruption to day-to-day banking, with the likelihood that most branches would not be able to open.

The public rightly find the bonuses, perks and pensions being paid to top bankers as grotesque.   Under new terms and conditions for employees, some of which are set to come into force from April 1, many HBOS staff will be moved to lower level roles or given a lower pay grading than their colleagues at Lloyds.

The new bonus structure will see rewards halved for the poorest paid employees down to five per cent, while highest earners can expect increases of up to 50 per cent.  Similarly, those on lower salary grades are set to lose up to two days of their annual leave while better-paid colleagues will gain the same amount.

One disgruntled bank employee yesterday said emotions within branches are running high.  He warned that unless there is “some positive movement” workers are ready to strike.  He added: “It’s not looking good at the moment.

Source… Dailyexpress.co.uk

The cutbacks begin, now that fiscal stimulus has stopped.  Al