Pay reduction pro-rata

andyman250

My partner works for a high street chain and they have been told that there is a proposal within the company to reduce wages in September to save money. they are only intending to hit the shop floor staff, not the managers, assistant managers and above hierarchy.
Also, my partner earns more than most of the others because of long service due to continued employment, but the company are intending to put everybody down to a basic rate. Is this legal to make some people loose more money than others? Surely a reduction should be made as a percentage (pro-rata) basis. Hope someone can help. Thanks for your time.

McKneff

Dont know about the legalities but i would have thought that there would have to have a consultation with the staff, not just make a unilateral decision - an unfair one at that - cheeky monkeys. Do you have a union.
Give ACAS a ring and ask them about it.

LittleVoice

I'm not commenting on the legalities of reducing pay disproporationately but it could actually be fairer sometimes to reduce the higher pay by a bigger percentage. 10% of £300 and 10% of £600 for instance might represent a bigger burden on the lower paid because they have less discretionary spending.