Willis staff offered cash incentives for unpaid leave

Willis chief executive Joe Plumeri has offered staff cash incentives to cut their working hours in a bid to trim costs, Reinsurance can reveal.

According to sources inside the company, Mr Plumeri told staff at The Willis Building that he was looking for volunteers to work four-day weeks for less pay. It is understood that an internal email had gone round Willis employees in February informing them of the same thing.

After a less-than-lukewarm response from Willis staff initially, Mr Plumeri has now offered staff cash incentives in return for blocks of unpaid leave. Reinsurance understands that one of the ideas is that staff taking a