PrudentialJan 18 2018

Concern for Prudential staff following Tata deal

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Concern for Prudential staff following Tata deal

Prudential has been challenged to guarantee it is not putting profits over staff after the provider cut ties with its former business processing partner Capita.

Trade union Unite called on Prudential to commit to keeping staff employed in the UK, not swap them for outsourced offshore teams, which may be deemed a cheaper option.

Prudential M&G announced on Tuesday (16 January) it was to terminate its contract with Capita and sign a ten-year partnership with rival Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

It said this was an “essential element” of its strategy to create a digitally-enabled business. 

It would speed up processes for advisers as the pension administration services for some four million life and pensions contracts would be consolidated into one platform and digitalised, it said.

Prudential said some 1,100 staff were affected by the move and would effectively be transferred from Capita to Tata’s regulated entity Diligenta.

A further 700 roles in India are also expected to move from Capita to Tata, alongside 180 full-time roles in London, Reading and Craigforth, which will transfer under the so-called TUPE arrangements from M&G Prudential to Tata.

Unite said the news had come as a shock. The trade union was particularly concerned about uncertainty surrounding the job moves.

Ian Methven, regional officer at Unite, said: “News that Prudential is ending its long contract with Capita has come as a shock to the employees across the businesses.

“There is legitimate alarm about what this transfer of staff means for their job security and future employment.”

It is unclear how many staff would stay in their jobs and whether there was any intention to move them out of the UK to join the team in India, he said as he called on Prudential to meet with the union in order to clarify what the new partnership will mean for the workforce.

Mr Methven said: “There must be concrete guarantees that this new contract will not merely result in hundreds of jobs being offshored to India or important workplaces like Belfast being simply shut down."

He added: “There has been no evidence that the Prudential appetite for offshoring has delivered any of the cost efficiencies which management have promoted, not to mention improved customer service outcomes.”

Prudential said it had been in discussions with employees and their representatives and would continue to confer with them throughout the process.

A spokesperson said: "We regularly engage with Unite, did so in advance of this announcement and will continue to consult with them about these proposed plans."

He said the transfer of roles proposed under TUPE arrangements from Capita to Diligenta will see Capita staff move into the Prudential office in Reading while those located in Craigforth will remain on the Prudential site.

The spokesman said: "We anticipate a smooth transition of servicing functions and we’ll be working with both Capita and Diligenta to make sure that service standards are maintained throughout this time.

"It will be business as usual, with advisers’ needs and those of clients at the forefront of this process."

carmen.reichman@ft.com