Forced employment contract chage and 20% pay cut............ help !

[maverick]

Can anyone kindly give me some advice on the matter or my rights etc

Cheers Mav

 

[dem maser]

John, I went through this 4 years ago.
My employers wanted me to go (as they knew I was friends with a director they sacked) and they offered me half my basic but made up for it by increasing commission.
I was there for 2 years so I had a few things in my favour.

I did at the time have my ex who is a family solicitor but helped me with this and after arranging court etc 1 day before they called and came to an agreement.

You need to see a solicitor, worth the £200 consultants as they will guide you....I received 6 months pay and all my commission in the pipeline (£5000) paid .


They were right, I left and worked with their ex director opposite them and which I'm still there and kicking their ***.

 

[maverick]

Cheers dem I think I will , spitting feathers at the moment and no sleep last night , why is that the most disruptive people and bloody lazy ones seem to get on in life and people who work had never off sick , 1st ones in in a morning happy to do any thing , work away from home for no extra pay get shitted on from a great height , one thing I learned from all this is , just do the bear minimum you get on in life !!!!

 

[CatmanV2]

'The squeaky wheel gets most grease'

Get the pros in, mate. It's extraordinary how often companies making these changes can screw up, mostly due to mid / senior level managers deciding a course of action, and then being mentally ill-equipped to be seen to change their mind.

On the other hand, they *may* have got it spot on and know exactly what they're doing. Only an expert will know for sure.

C

 

[Doohickey]

Can anyone kindly give me some advice on the matter or my rights etc

Cheers Mav

I'm no expert but I suspect it depends on what it says in your current employment contract. I did have to 'engineer' an exit for someone who worked part time because we needed someone full time. The contract allowed the employer to change working hours dependant on the circumstances provided that it was reasonable.

As Dem says, go and see a solicitor with your contract and see what their view is.

Good luck.

 

[Spartacus]

Sorry to hear your having problems Mav. I had similar thing happen to me. The company that i work for part time takes it upon themselves to put us all on reduced hours when it feels like it to save money . Totally illegal . It was ok for me as i work for myself aswell , but felt sorry for the others there who just do as they're told . I wont be doing it next time though. They can either make me redundant, or ill do my contracted hours . Chin up big man .

 

[maverick]

Cheers guys

 

[Felonious Crud]

Sorry to hear that Mav. If you want some advice I can direct you to the HR solicitor I use who generally seems to be pretty good. As others have said, the devil's in the detail not just of your own contract but also in how any changes were communicated, whether there was any prior consultation and so on. I strongly recommend a look at the ACAS web-site, which is surprisingly good and clear. Best of luck with it.

 

[GeoffCapes]

I second ACAS John. They helped me out no end when I was having a dispute with a previous employer. And they're free!

 

[allandwf]

I second ACAS John. They helped me out no end when I was having a dispute with a previous employer. And they're free!

I also went this route in the distant past, and won. Just make sure you have copies of absolutely everything, no matter how trivial you feel it may be.

 

[maverick]

Thanks for all the advice guys ,iam generally a very optimistic person so hopefully one door shuts another will open .but not going down with out a fight !! Iam going to seek legal advise and see my options , but the damage has been done now so may be time to move on there lose !!!

 

[MAF260]

Sorry to hear this mate, we all know you're a grafter. Advice as above - speak to somebody who is an expert in this field, even if you have to pay for the advice, as it will be very worthwhile. Worst case scenario is that you can always vote with your feet and find a new employer who will value your experience and work ethic.

 

[RSM Masser]

I also went this route in the distant past, and won. Just make sure you have copies of absolutely everything, no matter how trivial you feel it may be.

ACAS where very good and helped me secure another £1500 when I was made redundant (sacked) from a company - they set me up to fail, I won on constructive dismissal, they paid up, out of court in 4 weeks, on the proviso I accepted it as full settlement and didn't tell anybody. Oooops.

 

[davy83]

i would echo the getting advice option. However i believe your present job contract is the most important thing. it is not legal for force some one to accept a new contract in the UK, they must agree to it. We went through a few take overs and new owners always wanted new contracts, and you cannot force some one to accept new contract terms. The problem is that in reality unless you come to some accommodation with your employer you will rapidly get into a situation where your job becomes unworkable, and they will manufacture some redundancy scheme or some other way to move you out. They will have consulted employment lawyers most likely but just in case they have not, you should! ACAS will be good too.

 

[Zep]

I feel for you, this sort of thing is a really stressful situation. But it is amazing how many employers sail close to the wind with things like this and it can work in your favour.

As everyone has said, advice from the right people is worth its weight in gold, it will help to stop your mind wondering, improve your sleep and possibly get you a few quid.

Your advisor will need to know the current terms of your contract (notice period working hours etc) and the terms they are offering. Have a think about anything that has become "custom and practice" like a cash bonus at Christmas or extra days off that are not in your contract.

Are they making you redundant or terminating your contract? If they are giving you notice and then offering to re-employ you the law has changed recently and an employer must give 7 weeks notice or the period in your contract - whichever is higher - before making a change, or they can pay you in lieu of that.

Good luck!

 

[D Walker]

I shall keep my eye on this with intrest,
My wife works for a government department and they are trying to change there contracts with the statement (veiled). If you don't like it........leave!!
I have told her to refuse as her present contract had no date limit etc for renewal or such like and a contract has to be agreed between both parties.
The union is useless and offering little or no support.

 

[TridentTested]

That sounds like a potential Constructive Dismissal claim to me.

Yes, speak to the pros and take advice.

 

[spyder]

I would also say from no on, write everything down (however insignificant it may seem) so to who is saying what from your employer. It will not only give your advisor a very clear course of events, if there are inconsistencies within statements or positions either from the same individual or between individuals in the management chain, your clear and accurate record can make them look contradictory and incompetent if it comes to court or arbitration.

 

[safrane]

Its why our Jr Dr are striking

 

[redsonnylee]

As above write everything down, most cases are lost by the employer due to lack of process. A while back I helped a lady who used to work for me take her employer to a tribunal for age discrimination. I used to be an auditor so managed to find lots of mistakes in the documentation.

She had a very good payout and managed to find another job.