Going to lose £3000 per year due to rebanding of pay!!!

baggybond

As a result of local council changing its pay bands, my girlfriend stands to lose £3000 per year.

Can a local authority legally reduce an employees salary in this way?

When she took the job, she negotiated her salary and an agreement was made.

By changing the pay bands, and causing her salary to be reduced, aren't they going back on that agreement?

They want her to do the same, if not more, work for less money!

No one at her school knew about it until they were all sent letters this week telling them it was happening and when.

The £3000 is from her basic salary, there are no bonuses or allowances or any other extra payments. Her pay isnt that good as it is and a £3000 drop would be a massive drop in income.

supersavershal

They should really have had a period where they consulted staff and evaluated their roles and job matched those roles to the bands.Some places offer protected pay for 2 years, is she entitled to that.
I dont know how they could do this without union involvement and staff consultancy.Is there an appeals process in place?

baggybond

supersavershal wrote: »

They should really have had a period where they consulted staff and evaluated their roles and job matched those roles to the bands.Some places offer protected pay for 2 years, is she entitled to that.
I dont know how they could do this without union involvement and staff consultancy.Is there an appeals process in place?

She's only been in the job 5 months. Nothing was mentioned at her interview about rebanding when they were agreeing her salary. In fact they told her the salary would go up in april this year.

There could have been a period of consultation before she started but, as it was a surprise to all the other staff, this seems doubtful.

Apparently this rebanding is led by central government to standardise pay scales across the country!!!

beccam

Does she have a union and are they involved?

When nursing paybands were changed the unions managed to negotiate that people would be pay protected for a set period of time (think it was 3yrs) so nobody's pay could be cut and this would give people time to 'work up' to what they were earning by either not receiving yearly pay increments or by seeking promotion.

If she is not in a union tell her to get one asap!

baggybond

I've told her to look into joining a union.

She took the job because it was nearer her home and they said they would match the salary she was on at her other place of work.

This rebanding brings her salary lower than if she stayed where she was.

So where does she stand legally, because they will no longer be matching the salary she was on as they said they would?

KT1985

I am guessing that what you are referring to is the single-status pay review. There is a good chance that written into her contract is that this has been undergoing for quite a while. people have kicked up a fuss, but it makes no difference.



It is how it is.

baggybond

Then surely at her interview when they said they would match her salary, they should have also said the salary would be going down after the rebanding. Had they told her that, she would have stayed where she was!!!

KT1985

baggybond wrote: »

Then surely at her interview when they said they would match her salary, they should have also said the salary would be going down after the rebanding. Had they told her that, she would have stayed where she was!!!

I don't know about this, I just know that when I started a job in September this was cleverly written into my contract.

baggybond

I'll tell her to read through her contract too when she gets in!

The job description, which she still has, states a set salary but no mention of a rebanding. She went for the job and they offered her more to match the salary she was on, still no mention of a rebanding. The rebanding puts the salary under the salary stated in the job description.

This is not a good way to employ people, by promising them one amount of pay then a few months down the line reducing it. Its misleading and down right underhanded!!!

baggybond

beccam wrote: »

When nursing paybands were changed the unions managed to negotiate that people would be pay protected for a set period of time (think it was 3yrs) so nobody's pay could be cut and this would give people time to 'work up' to what they were earning by either not receiving yearly pay increments or by seeking promotion

Says in her contract that pay not protected due to job evaluation. Doesnt say what the job evaluation is or that she gonna lose almost a quarter of her salary from april!

She had it confirmed today that she going to lose £3500, and it will take her 6 years in her job to get near to that salary again.

She feels like she been screwed over by her employer now because they never said a word about it when they wanted her to work there, and only mentioned it in a letter received the day before it comes into force! Surely they had a duty to disclose this information before offering her the job and misleading her into changing jobs!!!

And if a salary was agreed at interview stage, then is the employer legally bound to pay that salary until both parties agree otherwise??

She looking for another job now!

ceridwen

Has your girlfriend got it in writing what her salary has been agreed as?

I dont know the position re whether or how long that agreement would stand in law. I can well understand you being upset - I would be ballistic if I were your girlfriend. An employer should mention all material facts at an interview - and it is obviously a very important material fact as to what the salary is (thats the whole reason the vast majority of us are doing a job after all). I would certainly ask a legal adviser what the position is if I were your girlfriend.

It does happen all too frequently that employers dont state all the facts one needs to know about a company at an interview - I suppose the only consolation would be that would-be employees often dont do so either (no consolation at all to those of us that DO - and expect the same fairness back I know).

Good luck.