Credit cards assigned to hundreds of Banco Espírito Santo (BES) executives as part of their compensation package, which could be used for personal expenses such as dining, electronics, or books, are at the center of a dispute.
Before the resolution of BES and the creation of Novo Banco in 2014, these credit cards were unilaterally canceled by the bank, leading employees to demand the full amount they were entitled to.
In September, Novo Banco proposed a one-time salary compensation, to be paid in October, equivalent to 50% of the amount each employee claimed, aiming to settle the issue and eliminate future liabilities.
For example, an employee with an accrued amount of 24,000 euros would be offered 12,000 euros gross in October, foregoing the remainder over their employment period and giving up future legal action.
Novo Banco communicated in early October that they considered the credit card issue resolved but decided, after discussions with the SNQTB and other unions, to devise a fair, equitable solution to conclusively address the matter.
According to various reports, 90% of the approximately 700 affected employees accepted the proposal.
After these developments were reported, several employees expressed feeling pressured by their superiors to accept the offer, citing potential losses of benefits and changes in labor law as incentives, but declined to speak on record due to fear of retaliation.
Further information suggests the bank indicated in September that employees who did not accept might see the credit card amount deducted from future bonuses or compensation.
No response was received from Novo Banco regarding these alleged pressures or the deduction plans for those who do not agree to the terms.
The National Union of Banking Managers and Technicians (SNQTB) was also approached to clarify their stance on providing legal support to members intending to litigate, but no response was given.
Previously, the union described the bank’s offer as a balanced position, allowing many employees to recover their rights, while stating they would follow the majority decision of their members regarding litigation.
In a recent wrongful dismissal lawsuit involving a banking employee, the court ruled that the bank must compensate the employee with the accrued amount plus interest, citing the consistency and regularity of the payments via credit card.
In another 2019 ruling, an employee of Banco Best (a Novo Banco subsidiary) was ordered to be compensated for losing their credit card limit, with the court requiring the unpaid amount since 2011 to be integrated into the monthly salary (distributed over 14 months annually).
Novo Banco, created in 2014 from part of BES’s banking activities, reached an agreement to be sold to the French banking group BPCE for 6.4 billion euros, though the sale is still being finalized.
Currently, the bank is 75% owned by the U.S. fund Lone Star and 25% by the Portuguese state (General Directorate of the Treasury and Finance and the bank resolution fund), with the sale still pending completion.
In September, a controversy rose from reports that Lone Star executives and Novo Banco managers are set to receive bonuses totaling 1.1 billion euros from the shareholder Lone Star, tied to the successful sale of Novo Banco.
In response, employees demanded recognition, with Novo Banco’s Workers Committee last week launching a petition among 4,000 employees, requesting a bonus equivalent to two months’ salary for each employee.
