HR incompetence - trying to break my contract!

scarlet74

Hello again!

I have an ongoing problem with my contract, which basically comes down to the HR department trying to break it. I'll make it as short as I can...!

I work at a university in a low level admin role, and 2 years ago I was upgraded to the next pay grade as my colleague (who was on a much higher grade) had left and was not being replacd.

I was given a 3 year contract at pay grade 3 (I had been grade 2) to run until the end of 2011. For almost the last 2 years, HR have been making me jump through hoops, claiming that I hadn't gone through the correct process for regrading. I had already been given and signed a contract, of course, but I filled in all the masses of paperwork to keep them happy - twice, in fact, as they got back to me with some suggestions after handing in the first application.

I told them that I already have a contract at grade 3 until the end of 2011, and at first they seemed surprised and confused - and then claimed that this was a mistake. They claimed it was a temporary regrading, and that the official regrading process would have to continue. My contract doesn't mention anything at all about a temporary grade, and it simply states that I am on a grade 3 from 1 January 2009 until 31 December 2011.

VERY frustrating, but I patiently awaited the outcome of the grading review panel... On the first day back after Christmas, my line manager told me that my application had been rejected, and that HR said I would revert to a grade 2! We lodged an appeal, and my pay would continue until 31 March whille they looked into it. Great...

Basically, I have a very straightforward contract, which the people in the HR department seem to think can be broken because they "made a mistake". I don't think they can legally do this - and I'm not trying to "get one over on them" as all I knew was that I was being regraded upwards, and that is the contract I got.

Does anyone please have any idea of what I can do? I'm really banging my head against a brick wall...

Thank you!

Annisele

I'm not a lawyer, so take with a pinch of salt:

I think that if the contract says "on a grade three 3 from [date] to [date]", then that implies that the regrading was temporary - otherwise it would just have said "promoted to a grade 3" or similar, with no end date.

I'm not sure whether your concern is that the regrading isn't permanent, or whether your concern is that the temporary regrading will end early on 31 March rather than 31 December.

Do you agree that the role you are doing really is a "pay grade 3" level job? It's possible that the higher-grade colleague who left had been managed out, and the job was never really at pay grade 3. It's equally possible that it's really a job at a higher level than grade 3 and they're taking advantage of you ...very hard to tell from here!

Are you in a union? Have you raised a formal grievance?

The_Pedant

Considering you have a 3 year contract to run until the new year, then I would have thought it's way too late for them to be saying "it's a mistake". If the contract ends at the end of this year then I would have thought that both sides can clearly be deemed to have accepted the contract by virtue of the fact that it has been in effect for the past two years.

They say that it is only a 'temporary regrading', but surely that's simply what is confirmed by the contract; it ends at the end of the year. Call me a pedant, but that sounds less than 'permanent', and therefore could quite rightly be construed as temporary.

That aside, either party is free to suggest changes to an employment contract through negotiation. I thought that changes can still effectively be forced through though only by terminating the original contract (with the statutory notice period etc) and taking you back on under a new contract.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/EmploymentContractsAndConditions/DG_10028079
I would have thought they need a full business case for forcing such a change though.

Have they given any reasons for the 'mistake'? Are they objecting to the regrading, or the term of the contract? Without knowing what their objection is, it is hard to 'negotiate' any appropriate change.

I'm not the legal trade though and so would love to know folks thoughts

DVardysShadow

Some history https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2710883

Mudd14

To have a legally flawed contract the mistake must be a fundemental one that is serios enough to make the contract void, these mistakes are dificult to prove and only really occur when the contract is legally incorrect.

Most common mistakes are wrong salary or paying a higher grade.

In your instance contractually there is no way out for them, they offered a contract and it was not a fundemental mistake as they were obviously willing to pay somone that grade. If a lower salary is imposed then the company will be in breach of contract. However you would only be able to bring a claim through a ET after the contract was temrinated.

The options are;

Do nothing.

Work under protest and bring a claim under the ERA 1996 for the difference in pay under the contract. You can still continue to work whilst bringing the claim

Protest under a grievance procedure, continue working but resign when you found a new job and then claim for lost wages

Seek an injunction for the employer to honour the contract

Leave immediately and sue for damages in breaching the contract