Labour Court rejects union claim for luncheon vouchers at Norwich Union

The Labour Court did not recommend conceding Manufacturing Science And Finance’s claim for luncheon vouchers for Norwich Union Life Assurance Society branch staff. It recommended that the union take up the company’s offer to upgrade provincial office facilities. The union sought vouchers or a daily allowance because branch staff lacked the subsidised canteen available at head office. The company said staffing levels justified its head-office canteen and offered to examine improvements to branch facilities. The recommendation was signed on 31 January 1989. The Court said a subsidised canteen did not give staff outside the head-office location an entitlement to equivalent compensation.