paycut, bonus, constructive dismissal

coolshades

i report to the ceo of a large company and am the sole employee of the overseas branch in uk of that company. i was recruited to perform a sales role in the uk 2 years back and reported to the ceo who was also the p/l owner of the uk operations.the ceo is based abroad.

about 6 months after my recruitment, my company bought a few other companies in the uk and my role changed to being the management guy on the ground,providing management support to the acquired companies,liaising with the ceo,making recommendations to the ceo for decision making, and in general becoming the day to day operations manager in the uk for my company. This role change was never formalised.

today, after 2 years, he has asked me to go back to the role i was recruited for and asked me to consider taking a pay cut.

my queries are as follows:

• my original employment contract had a bonus structure based on my performance as a sales person. since my role change (to the day to day operations manager), i have never been able to devote time to sales and i have missed out on a considerable bonus. can i claim lost compensation for this? or can i state that the performance of the companies i support should be counted in my bonus calculation? the ceo is aware that i have not been able to devote time for sales - this has been explicitly made clear by me verbally several times
• since i am the sole employee of the branch, can i reject any paycut, in which case can i be made redundant because of my rejection?
• he has cited that paycuts are being introduces across the group in all companies. can i demand to know which staff are being asked to take pay cuts and whether he himself is taking a pay cut?
• lastly can i claim constructive dismissal on account of being forced to undertake a different role than the one i was recruited for,undergoing the attendant stress and now being asked to take a pay cut?

apologies for the long post.

LittleVoice

coolshades wrote: »

i report to the ceo of a large company and am the sole employee of the overseas branch in uk of that company. i was recruited to perform a sales role in the uk 2 years back and reported to the ceo who was also the p/l owner of the uk operations.the ceo is based abroad.

about 6 months after my recruitment, my company bought a few other companies in the uk and my role changed to being the management guy on the ground,providing management support to the acquired companies,liaising with the ceo,making recommendations to the ceo for decision making, and in general becoming the day to day operations manager in the uk for my company. This role change was never formalised. But did you receive a pay rise?

today, after 2 years, he has asked me to go back to the role i was recruited for and asked me to consider taking a pay cut.

my queries are as follows:

• my original employment contract had a bonus structure based on my performance as a sales person. since my role change (to the day to day operations manager), i have never been able to devote time to sales and i have missed out on a considerable bonus. can i claim lost compensation for this? or can i state that the performance of the companies i support should be counted in my bonus calculation? the ceo is aware that i have not been able to devote time for sales - this has been explicitly made clear by me verbally several times You did different work and were remunerated for that work. Presumably you were content with that at the time. I do not see that you can claim compensation from the company for your agreeing to do some other work instead of sales (which may or may not have earned you a bonus).
• since i am the sole employee of the branch, can i reject any paycut, in which case can i be made redundant because of my rejection? You can't be made redundant as that can only apply if the work is not there to be done - and clearly there must be otherwise you would not have been asked to do it. If the business can show that it needs to save costs in order to survive then it could dismiss you - and might offer you the job at the reduced rate if you then wanted to accept.
• he has cited that paycuts are being introduces across the group in all companies. can i demand to know which staff are being asked to take pay cuts and whether he himself is taking a pay cut? No - you might be able to get some information for an ET claim but that would not be related to named individuals (including the owner).
• lastly can i claim constructive dismissal on account of being forced to undertake a different role than the one i was recruited for,undergoing the attendant stress and now being asked to take a pay cut? If you had been constructively dismissed in connection with doing the different role surely that would have been 18 months ago or shortly thereafter, not retrospectively now. Just being asked to consider a paycut could hardly be considered equivalent to dismissing you.

apologies for the long post.

.....................................

SomeBozo

have never been able to devote time to sales and i have missed out on a considerable bonus.

No, as your role was different.

have never been able to devote time to sales and i have missed out on a considerable bonus.

As already pointed the role still exists, and as you make roles redundant, not people, there is no redundancy issues here.

he has cited that paycuts are being introduces across the group in all companies. can i demand to know which staff are being asked to take pay cuts and whether he himself is taking a pay cut?

Of course not! What you are paid by your employer is between you and your employer.

lastly can i claim constructive dismissal on account of being forced to undertake a different role than the one i was recruited for,undergoing the attendant stress and now being asked to take a pay cut

From what I have read there is no grounds for constructive dismissal.

Bozo

coolshades

LittleVoice wrote: »

.....................................

thanks. very comprehensive responses. yes i did receive a pay rise, so thats that.

by the way, if a pay cut is introduced and i agree to it, does it have to be introduced from the date of expiry of notice period of my contract?

LittleVoice

coolshades wrote: »

thanks. very comprehensive responses. yes i did receive a pay rise, so thats that.

by the way, if a pay cut is introduced and i agree to it, does it have to be introduced from the date of expiry of notice period of my contract?

If you agree to it, you can agree to the date from which it would apply.

You might like to think of being willing to negotiate down to it being short of the full notice period (if you have a 3-month notice period for instance) but not immediate. This could give you time to search for other jobs where you could quote your current salary level rather than the reduced one. You might also try proposing a maximum length of time for the pay cut to be operative before reverting to your current level, as they could always negotiate an extension to that but you would still be able to deal with a prospective employer on the basis of the return to the higher figure.

Good luck with things any way.