As you are aware, the CWU Openreach National Team (NT) has been in discussions with Service Delivery Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) regarding your attendance patterns. It is disappointing that FTTP has moved to serve notice on the members remaining on a 4-day week or 9-day fortnight all year round to change their attendance to 5 days per week during the seasonal period (3 November 2025 until 9 February 2026).
Your CWU NT does not agree to notice being served.
Please note that serving notice should not change those currently on a Personal and Domestic (P&D) attendance pattern. This is a separate process, and it should continue.
Background Information
Your CWU NT recognises that FTTP have demonstrated that there are safety and efficiency concerns working in the hours of darkness during the winter months. Your CWU NT made a proposal to Openreach, which sought a compromise to resolve the situation and avoid the serving of notice.
To be clear, the CWU’s proposal would have been put to you before agreement and implementation. This proposal would have been subject to a ballot of you, the members in FTTP, to decide if you accepted the proposal.
Regrettably, the proposal put forward by your CWU team was rejected by Openreach. It is disappointing that they were not prepared to compromise to seek an agreed solution or to allow you to decide in a democratic process. This is an imposition by Openreach and the FTTP Senior leadership team.
Impact
FTTP is serving notice on those who have not chosen a seasonal or 5-day attendance pattern, resulting in a mandatory 5-day week being imposed during the seasonal period. The CWU stressed to Openreach that FTTP should not be punishing people for expressing a preference to stay on their existing attendance.
Members have also informed union reps that, in some cases, there has been verbal coercion to get people to move f rom 4-day and 9-day fortnight all year-round attendance patterns. Please contact your local CWU branch if you feel you have been coerced or bullied into making a decision.
Next Steps
Your CWU NT does not agree with FTTP serving notice on a 4-day week and 9-day fortnight all year round and forcing individuals to do a 5-day week during the seasonal element. However, FTTP was going to serve notice to a 5-day week all year round, and your CWU NT has been able to convince senior management that, at the very least, seasonal attendance patterns should remain an option for those impacted by serving notice.
Resolution to this issue remains a priority for your CWU NT. In order to help with this, it is crucial that you submit your thoughts and opinions on your attendance patterns. Please email the branch for a link to complete a survey on your attendance patterns. By completing the survey, you will enable us to represent your views on serving notice and on what action/next steps to take.
See also the below podcast on this issue.