Lloyds is set to put thousands of its lowest-performing staff at risk of dismissal as the UK bank overhauls its strategy in a bid to embed a “high-performance culture”.
The banking group plans to change how it monitors the performance of its employees and manages staff turnover within the business.
Among its workforce – which totalled about 61,200 at the end of 2024 – about 3,000 people viewed to be among the bottom 5% are set to be put at risk of dismissal.
Around half of those could lose their jobs, as first reported in the Financial Times (FT).
The practice means employees that managers deem to be underperforming can be put on “structured support” plans – but face losing their jobs if improvements are not ultimately made.
The Accord union, which represents thousands of Lloyds employees, indicated executives have sharpened their focus on performance and productivity, but that manager members have not been told to start “ranking” staff.
It is understood that bosses at Lloyds are keen to address low rates of turnover among its employees – meaning more people are staying with the business for longer – and aligning it with other banks.
The FT reported that current turnover at the group is about 5% each year compared to an average of closer to 15% historically, citing a person familiar with the matter.
A spokeswoman for Lloyds said it was focused on “transforming our business”.
“As we build highly-skilled teams to move faster forward and deliver great outcomes for our customers, we are striving to embed a high-performance culture in the organisation,” it said.
“To achieve this, and in line with wider industry practice, we continuously look for ways to help our colleagues perform at their best.
“We know change can be uncomfortable, but we are excited about the opportunities ahead as we propel forward to achieve our growth ambitions and delivering exceptional customer experiences.”
Ged Nichols, general secretary for trade union Accord, said: “This is why bank employees need strong trade unions.
“There has been an increased focus on performance in Lloyds Banking Group this year with more use of the structured support plans to help individuals who may be falling short of their performance objectives.
“We work hard to support individual members through these processes to help them to keep their jobs and we’ll continue to do so.”
He added that the union was asking Lloyds to “reassure its staff that it will continue to uphold the integrity of the established performance management processes”.
The shake-up comes after the Government recently announced a new package of reforms designed to reintroduce “informed risk-taking” to the UK’s financial sector, which was stripped back after the 2008 financial crisis.
Rachel Reeves said companies ought to avoid “excessive caution” and strive for growth and investment.
