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Regional publisher to axe extra pay for Sunday and Bank Holiday work

NewsquestA regional publisher is to cease making extra payments to any of its journalists working on Sundays and Bank Holidays, replacing them with lieu days instead.

Newsquest has announced the proposal at several of its titles, meaning the company’s previous policy of awarding additional monetary payments to editorial staff working on those days will now end across the group.

The change has previously been implemented at the majority of the publisher’s titles, but has yet to be brought it at all of its newspapers.

Journalists working on the affected titles will still receive extra payment and a lieu day for working on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day if the changes go ahead.

Staff will also still be reimbursed for any actual time worked on Bank Holidays, which will be paid at the employee’s normal hourly rate.

As part of the switch, Newsquest is also intending to standardise contractual hours of work to 75 per fortnight.

A memo, which has been seen by HTFP, states: “The underlying reasons behind the proposals is the identification of further efficiencies during what are difficult trading conditions and to bring consistency in the benefits offered to employees.

“This has resulted in savings having to be made and planned throughout the business including redundancies.”

A consultation period on the proposed changes will begin on Tuesday 31 October.

A Newsquest spokesman said: “The majority of our titles converted payments for weekends and bank holidays into lieu days instead some time ago – and we are bringing the last remaining titles into line with those.

“Editorial staff do receive an extra payment for working on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day as well as a lieu day.”

11 comments

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  • October 20, 2017 at 9:33 am
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    This reminds of when JP brought in weekend shifts to feed the website a few years back
    It gave reporters time off instead of extra pay.
    The snag?
    There were not enough staff to cover.
    The sort of brilliant management we came to expect.
    Like training staff to be mobile reporters out on the road; then removing the petrol allowance and taking away pool cars!
    I hope Newsquest does better with this scheme.

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  • October 20, 2017 at 10:41 am
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    Hey! Maybe get advertising, accounts and HR to work Bank Holidays and weekends too……..ahhhh. Oh, silly me. Look, there goes a Suidae with wings!
    Still, those lieu days do add up – I’ve still got 25 left over from when I took (!) VR from my previous pulplication!

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  • October 20, 2017 at 10:46 am
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    Ah the old ‘difficult trading conditions’ excuse. Same conditions that allowed them to purchase 2 regional newspaper groups recently.

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  • October 20, 2017 at 10:54 am
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    “Extra paymant for working… Boxing Day and New Year’s Day”? That’ll be a first for long-suffering sports reporters, particularly those travelling half-way across the country mostly in their own time. Look forward to the extra money now it’s in black and white.

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  • October 20, 2017 at 11:19 am
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    Can I be the first to nominate Newsquest for a national Employer of the Year award.
    They are a shining example of how not to treat the staff (the few that are left, obviously).

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  • October 20, 2017 at 11:40 am
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    “Twas Christmas Day in the workhouse…..” Newsquest dispense good cheer again.

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  • October 20, 2017 at 12:20 pm
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    Blame the ( electronic ) mail system as this communication is obviously over a hundred years old, I think staff at NQ should think themselves jolly lucky to be given the whole of Christmas Day off when there’ll be readers eager to send in iPhone snaps and festive news stories and no one at NQofficrs to copy and paste them!

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  • October 20, 2017 at 1:19 pm
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    Newsquest manager language: “The underlying reasons behind the proposals is the identification of further efficiencies during what are difficult trading conditions and to bring consistency in the benefits offered to employees.”

    English langauage: “We’ve identified another area for penny pinching at the expense of our downtrodden staff, using the economic climate as a scapegoat. We are rolling out the scrapping of any remaining staff benefits for all our titles.”

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  • October 20, 2017 at 3:18 pm
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    I hope everyone works 75 hours per fortnight and not a minute more.
    Not a paper would be printed.

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  • October 21, 2017 at 10:26 am
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    and they still expect the long-suffering staff to work with enthusiasm.

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