Insignia Financial looks to slash redundancy entitlements

BY JAMIE WILLIAMSON | WEDNESDAY, 24 JUL 2024 12:52PM

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) is calling on Insignia Financial to rethink a proposed overhaul of redundancy pay arrangements after the wealth manager tabled a plan to cut entitlements by more than half.

The FSU is currently negotiating a new Enterprise Agreement (EA) with Insignia Financial, a process that has been ongoing for several months now.

As part of the negotiations, Insignia Financial has proposed cutting current redundancy pay entitlements from 94 weeks to 36 weeks after the first 12 months of the new EA being in place. This would make it one of the lowest redundancy arrangements in financial services, the FSU said.

"These arrangements will disproportionately impact older, long-term staff who have dedicated years of service to the company, undermining their job security and financial stability. It's a despicable move and a poor way to thank some of your most loyal staff," FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said.

"This also comes at a time when staff are already navigating uncertainties due to the company's transformation initiatives and aggressive cost-cutting measures."

Earlier this month, newly installed Insignia Financial chief executive Scott Hartley announced an overhaul of the leadership team and the company's operating model. And, earlier this week, it was announced one of its superannuation RSEs, OnePath, has entered a court enforceable undertaking with APRA and paid a $10.7 million fine as it continues to identify members whose contributions weren't directed to a MySuper offering when they should have been.

That same day Insignia announced it would need to increase its remediation bill significantly to cover the fine as well as other remediation activities related to poor financial advice, which was identified through assessments conducted on those within its self-employed adviser channel.

"That's money that isn't flowing to workers in the form of well-deserved pay increases because of the mistakes of senior management. It clearly shows Insignia values profits over the welfare and morale of its workforce," Angrisano said.

The negotiations between Insignia Financial and the FSU have also included discussions around guaranteed pay increases, improved leave entitlements, and the right to work from home.

However, the FSU says Insignia Financial has so far "blatantly rejected what workers are calling for," particularly on the remote work piece.

"Their disregard toward protecting work from home arrangements is counter-productive to what we hope to achieve through negotiations, which is to foster a positive work environment," Angrisano said.

She added that earlier this year thousands of Insignia workers signed an open letter to Hartley, calling on him to reconsider Insignia's position on working from home and to engage with the FSU to address these issues.

"Unfortunately, this has fallen on deaf ears and Mr. Hartley has chosen to ignore workers' concerns," she said.

In a statement to Financial Standard, an Insignia Financial spokesperson said: "Insignia Financial is currently in negotiations with the FSU to develop a single enterprise agreement. This will replace our existing agreements which were inherited through multiple acquisitions."

"We continue to work through the negotiation process and are pleased with the progress we have made to date. We remain committed to continuing to negotiate in good faith with the FSU to achieve a unified set of terms and conditions that meet the needs of our people and our business."

Meantime, Angrisano said the FSU will continue to advocate for its members.

"We believe the wellbeing of workers should not be compromised in the name of cost-cutting and it's imperative the company upholds its responsibilities particularly to those who have shown long-term commitment and loyalty," Angrisano said.

"The FSU will... not relent until these unjust proposals are withdrawn."

Read more: FSU, Insignia Financial, Finance Sector Union, Financial Standard, Julia Angrisano, MySuper, OnePath, Scott Hartley
i found this ------looks like management stuffed up.read the my super part .............scott is sorting out this mess now.....good one motto ??
scott has found some cost savings as well .looks like he is getting thing together now .