Pay cuts and freezes: do I have to accept them

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Pay cuts and freezes: do I have to accept them?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/pers ... -them.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Employees are seeing their pay frozen or even cut as the recession continues and inflation is replaced by deflation.
Of the 400 companies polled for the British Chambers of Commerce Monthly Business Survey, 58pc said they intended to freeze wages and a further 12pc said pay would be cut.

Earlier this week Royal Mail warned its staff to expect a pay freeze this year. BT has announced a its own freeze and dozens of other companies have taken similar steps.
But do workers have to accept freezes? Can companies get away with imposing pay cuts? We asked Jane Mann and David Murphy, two experts at Fox Williams LLP, the law firm, to explain the legal position.

CAN MY EMPLOYER IMPOSE A PAY CUT?

Your pay is a key term of any employment contract. Unless your contract allows your employer to change your pay, it needs your consent to any pay cut. In the current climate some employees are readily agreeing to pay cuts in the hope that it saves jobs; others are less keen.
Employers are conscious that seeking agreement can be like trying to get turkeys to vote for Christmas and some are instead imposing pay cuts unilaterally and putting the onus on the employees to act if they are not happy.
Employers taking this approach will usually argue that, by carrying on working, the employees have accepted the change.

WHAT CAN I DO IF MY PAY IS CUT?

The extreme option is to resign and bring a claim for constructive unfair dismissal. However, walking out of your job may not be the best option in the current climate.

A less extreme option is to continue to work but make it clear that you do not accept the change and bring a claim for breach of contract in the civil courts or an unlawful deduction from wages claim in an employment tribunal.

Financially, it might be better to take it on the chin and stay in your job while you look for a new one, rather than walk out immediately, particularly if it would take you some time to find a new role.

If you would be out of work for more than a month or so, a pay cut of 10pc starts to look like not such a bad outcome after all.

WILL PAY CUTS BE REVERSED AUTOMATICALLY AT A LATER DATE?

No, pay is not usually restored automatically after a certain period such as a year. But when asked to agree to a pay cut, workers could ask their employer to agree that their pay will revert to their current rate after a year, or at least agree to review the situation after a year.

CAN MY EMPLOYER FREEZE MY PAY THIS YEAR?

Unless you are among the lucky few who have a term in their employment contracts giving them the right to a pay rise each year, it is unlikely that you have any right to one, particularly if you work in the private sector. So if your pay is frozen all you can do is try to negotiate a rise.

If you have received a pay rise of the same amount every year over a period of several years you could try to argue that this practice has created an implied contractual right to a pay rise. But winning such an argument in practice is likely to be extremely difficult.
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[BELIAL]

That very odd, they seem to have forgotten about withdrawing your labour en masse Why would that be I wonder

[Tman]

Possibly more odd is the concept that there could/will be any form of withdrawal of labour en masse.

Most MC posties where I am are either one-hour-a-day contracts, agency workers or working mums, hardly the stuff of solid support and militancy of years gone by, plus to many, the idea of losing even more money on top of a wage freeze seems nonsensical.

That could be the final nail in the CWU's coffin if they call strikes and many don't support them, although maybe that's what RM is hoping will happen...

[axeman]

no get your duffle coat on lads !! 'tman' my you are slipping

[Tman]

Ah, dear old Ag.... errr axey........

[BELIAL]

LMFCO Bonus man has no shame " It's only pin money,be grateful"
All you underpaid mums ,rush out and engage the services of a private legal representative to petition for your right to maintain your standard of living. Be warned if Judge Jeffries rules against you, you will be liable for costs.

[Tman]

"BELIAL"]LMFCO Bonus man has no shame " It's only pin money,be grateful"

Don't know about having no shame (effort in = reward out, a basic principle)
I under-estimated it BTW. Nearer six hundred quid in the event , but still not a patch on your eleven hundred quid a week pay packets twenty years ago .
Just my opinion on what will happen, but thanks for posting the usual arcane riposte. It beats all that thinking about a reply, I suppose.
Really doesn't matter much to me, but it's your postie oppos who need to grow some nuts, else you all will be (even further) down the river.

Seems like most of the technical constituencies are getting a little tired of being called out on strike to show solidarity with Bill and Ben from Much-Whinging-in-the-Wilderness DO. Good old CWU can't even keep the people who matter on-side these days....

[Sandyman]

Possibly more odd is the concept that there could/will be any form of withdrawal of labour en masse

You seem to be forgetting the general state of how pissed off so many workers are with their jobs in Royal Mail due to the way they are being mis-managed. Historically, this is a big factor that influences response to industrial action. There are some genuine grievances where I am that look like exploding into a possible strike within the next 6 weeks, which are being exacerbated by rank bad management and morale in the workplace which is minus zero.

[BELIAL]

Does anybody else on this forum find that management get further detached from reality with each passing day?

[Sandyman]

"BELIAL"]LMFCO Bonus man has no shame " It's only pin money,be grateful"

Don't know about having no shame (effort in = reward out, a basic principle)

No problem with that Tman.

Contribute towards making the business you work in a multi-million pound profit - The reward? No bonus and pay freeze!!

Basic principle down the toilet = annoyed workers.

[BELIAL]

"BELIAL"]LMFCO Bonus man has no shame " It's only pin money,be grateful"

Don't know about having no shame (effort in = reward out, a basic principle)

No problem with that Tman.

Contribute towards making the business you work in a multi-million pound profit - The reward? No bonus and pay freeze!!

Basic principle down the toilet = annoyed workers.

that won't work,far too complicated for bonus man to grasp(every office has got one, C'mon admit it)

[stokes11eg]

"BELIAL"]LMFCO Bonus man has no shame " It's only pin money,be grateful"

Don't know about having no shame (effort in = reward out, a basic principle)

No problem with that Tman.

Contribute towards making the business you work in a multi-million pound profit - The reward? No bonus and pay freeze!!

Basic principle down the toilet = annoyed workers.

that won't work,far too complicated for bonus man to grasp(every office has got one, C'mon admit it)

I still do not understand why the Unions do not take a rest case to tribunal, on balance, and on points of law, they should win, and the decision would surely stop Royal mail in their tracks?