More than 800 employees at National Irish Bank (NIB) are expected to vote this week to accept an agreement that guarantees their conditions of employment if they sign up for training.

The proposed agreement also rules out the prospect of compulsory redundancies and offers staff a range of incentives to undertake new training courses.

Staff have until September 12th to vote on the deal, which was negotiated by the Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA) and Danske Bank, the Danish bank which recently acquired NIB.

Danske Bank, which has also acquired Northern Bank, plans to merge the two banks and has asked staff to complete a computer training course to help with the integration process.

To compensate staff Danske Bank has offered each staff member a home computer worth €2,160 at no cost to them. They will also receive a one year free subscription to broadband.

The incentive package also includes: a bonus worth €720 for completion of training; €720 upon completion of the integration of NIB and Northern Bank; and €720 in Danske Bank shares.

The IBOA is recommending that members support the agreement.

"This is an important agreement between IBOA and Danske Bank as it sets out a mutually beneficial understanding between staff and the bank for the future," said Larry Broderick, general secretary of the IBOA.

"The enabling agreement will allow National Irish Bank to become fully integrated into Danske Bank while protecting member's jobs and delivering considerable benefits for IBOA members in the bank," he said.

There are several issues that remain unresolved between the IBOA and Danske Bank such as a review of salaries and pensions, and a new share scheme for staff in NIB and Northern Bank.