What is involved in determining the job status of Access employees?

Integrating banks is hard work and we want to do it well. Union management must determine the position needs of the combined company to support the additional clients and growth strategy, and to obtain cost savings. In addition, Union must determine its space needs and strategy for where positions will be located.

Who will be eligible for severance?

An employee working at least 20 hours per week, who has at least one year of service (including service with Access and any predecessor), and who experiences an involuntary termination (without cause) due to the merger at or after the merger closing will be eligible for benefits under the Union Severance Pay Plan.

This FAQ only addresses severance if termination occurs at or after the merger closing.

If termination of employment occurs prior to the merger closing, an Access employee will be eligible for severance only if he/she is eligible under the terms of the Access severance policy.

Are part-time employees eligible for severance?

How much severance will I receive?

An employee who receives notice that his/her job is being eliminated at or after the merger closing will be eligible for benefits under the Union Severance Pay Plan.

·         An eligible employee will receive two weeks of pay for every completed year of service up to a maximum of 26 weeks of pay.

·         For a salaried employee, pay is based on the employee’s weekly base salary amount.

·         For an hourly wage employee, pay is based on base wage and the number of non-overtime hours regularly work each week. For example, if a part-time employee is regularly scheduled to work 20 hours per week then his/her weekly severance pay will be calculated as the product of the employee’s basic hourly wage rate multiplied by 20 hours per week.

·         Commissions, bonuses and incentive pay are not counted when calculating severance.

Will there be any outplacement assistance in finding jobs for employees who are not offered a position with Union?

Union will offer outplacement services to an eligible employee as he/she approaches the work through date. More detail will be shared with eligible employees in the future.

We understand that this announcement will cause anxiety.

If you feel you need to speak with a professional to help you through this transitional period, please reach out to Access’s Employee Assistance Program at 1-800-386-7055.

Yes, an Access employee may be eligible to continue Access group health benefits after termination. Any continuation will be at the employee’s own cost.

Please note that Access group health benefits will migrate to Union’s group health plan benefits at some point after the merger closing. Employees whose employment terminates after such time will be eligible to continue coverage under Union’s group health plan at the employee’s own cost.

If an Access employee voluntarily resigns prior to his/her “work through date”, will the Access employee still get severance?

No, an Access employee will not receive severance if he/she voluntarily resigns before the work through date.

If an Access employee has a “work through date” set, but Union asks the employee to leave before that date, will the Access employee still get severance?

Yes, an employee will remain eligible for severance benefit if involuntarily terminated (without cause) prior to his/her work through date.

If Union offers an Access employee a position, do they lose severance eligibility?

Yes, if an Access employee is offered a new position with Union that is reasonably comparable to the employee’s current position and in a location that is within thirty-five (35) miles of the employee’s prior position, they lose severance eligibility.

If an Access employee is to be terminated, how will they know their termination date?

Any job elimination notifications will include the anticipated termination date for that position. In most cases, it will align closely with either the merger closing or conversion date, but business needs may dictate different dates.

An employee will have the opportunity to apply for open positions. The Union and Access Human Resources Departments will collaborate and notify employees of available opportunities.

What are the opportunities for job growth?

Will current open positions at each bank be put on hold?

Union and Access will both continue to run their businesses independently until the closing of the merger. Management at each bank will evaluate whether it can hold open positions for displaced employees on a case-by-case basis.

Can an Access employee apply for open Union positions prior to the merger closing date?

Yes, an Access employee can apply for open Union positions. Open positions can be found under the career section on Union’s website. If an Access employee is offered a position before the merger closing date, he/she will need to resign from his/her position at Access and will start as a new Union employee. If the new position is accepted prior to the completion of the merger, prior years of service with Access will not be counted under any of Union’s benefit or other programs except to the extent required by law.

Until the merger closes, Access’s Human Resources Department will coordinate with Union’s Human Resources Department to relay information about open positions on both sides.

Yes, an incentive eligible Access employee will receive his/her bonus as normal and any bonus will be determined by Access Management based on 2018 performance.  Payments will be made no later than March 15, 2019.  

Will Access employees be eligible to receive a merit increase in 2019?

Access Management will close out the 2018 annual performance review process in February 2019. This includes merit increase decisions with a March 1st effective date (reflected in the March 30th paycheck). This aligns with Union’s annual merit review process.

Will my paycheck come from Access?

Yes, an Access employee will continue to be paid on the Access payroll through the merger closing. At some point after the merger closing, all employees will be moved to Union’s payroll. More information will be provided after the merger closing date.

Will years of service (tenure) of Access employees be carried over?

Yes, years of service with Access and Middleburg will carry forward after closing and will be counted for purposes of determining benefits service eligibility and Paid Time Off (PTO) under Union’s benefit plans.

An Access employee will move to Union’s benefit plans including the 401(k) Plan at some point after the merger closing date. Until that time, an Access employee will continue to participate in the Access benefit plans elected during Open Enrollment for the 2019 Plan Year. Union’s 2019 Benefits Guide is attached for your review.

A detailed communication packet will be distributed prior to the merger closing date. This package will include information on Union’s benefit and retirement plans including benefits open enrollment instructions.

When do Access employees move to Union’s PTO program?

Until the merger closing date, Access’s paid time off policies will continue to apply but will be amended prior to December 31, 2018 to provide that, for 2018 only, no PTO will be rolled over for use in 2019. Instead, for 2018 only, up to 80 hours of unused PTO will be cashed out and paid to the Access employee on January 31, 2019. Beginning for PTO credited in 2019, the Access policy will be revised to limit PTO rollover (at the end of 2019) to 40 hours and to limit the use of rolled over PTO hours to be consistent with the Union policy. Access will provide additional information regarding these changes to each Access employee at a later date.

Details regarding Union’s Paid Time Off policy are attached for your review. Please note:

·         Union’s PTO policy allows for up to 40 hours to be carried over in the next year and limits how rolled over PTO can be used.

·         Union PTO calculation takes into consideration tenure and officer title. An Access employee will be communicated his/her officer title, if applicable, during the job status notification process.

Where can employees go to find more information?

We will continue to provide information as more details become available. This information can be found on the Access S:\UNION and R:\UNION shared drives. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to your manager or ANC-HR if you have additional questions. If you have not already done so, please view the video of John Asbury, Union’s CEO, and Michael Clarke, Access’s CEO, on the Access J:\ drive.

Please note that this FAQ contains a high-level summary of Union’s Severance Pay Plan. In the event there is a discrepancy between this FAQ and the Severance Pay Plan document, the terms of the legal severance plan document will control.