Plumeri asks Willis staff to take unpaid leave

Plumeri asks Willis staff to take unpaid leave: "Willis chief executive Joe Plumeri has offered staff cash incentives to cut their working hours in a bid to trim costs, Reinsurance can reveal.

According to sources inside the company, Plumeri told staff at The Willis Building that he was looking for volunteers to work four-day weeks for less pay. It is understood that an internal email had gone round Willis employees in February informing them of the same thing.

After a less-than-lukewarm response from Willis staff initially, Plumeri has now offered staff cash incentives in return for blocks of unpaid leave. Reinsurance understands that one of the ideas is that staff taking a month's sabbatical can earn 30% of the salary for that period.

A number of market sources told Reinsurance that Willis' move may hurt the broker in the long run with regards to account serving, but there is a general agreement amongst London Market brokers and underwriters contacted by Reinsurance that Willis' move may safeguard jobs - even if it is only for the short term.

'Having a month's sabbatical on 30% salary is better than having a permanent sabbatical on zero salary,' one broker said.

When contacted by Reinsurance about the story, Willis said: 'We are offering our associates the option to take some unpaid leave, and/or partly paid sabbaticals. This fits with our policy of moving toward more flexible working and benefit structures. It also gives us another tool that allows us to manage our costs as we, like all other professional services firms, navigate these times of economic turmoil and uncertainty. This scheme is not compulsory, and is managed completely in conjunction with the team leaders to ensure client service is never compromised. It has been extremely well received by our associates.'"

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