Staff at Vauxhall Motors could still benefit from a bonus linked to the strength or weakness of the pound, even though they missed the first opportunity, HR director Bruce Warman told Personnel Today.
The bonus scheme, written into the company’s pay deal, hit the news recently when the company’s 9,000 staff failed to benefit in the first qualifying period because the pound was too strong against the deutschmark.
The unique scheme is designed to compensate staff, who accepted a lower pay deal because of the adverse affect the strong pound has on the firm, if its value falls.
Under the deal all staff at the Luton plant will get a 0.5 per cent pay rise if the pound falls below Dm2.7 for two consecutive months before the end of August 2001. On average this will add £100 to each person’s salary.
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“It could still happen in the next year,” said Warman.
A spokesman for the T&G union said the bonus was agreed two years ago. He said staff do not expect it to materialise.