ex gratia payment for pay cut

myskinylegs

Please help!!!! I have been told to take a pay cut but an ex gratia payment if i accept it.
The company put it through as grievance when i objected i asked for a meeting but they instead suddenly doubled the ex gratia payment so that i would cancel the meeting.

I asked for it to be put in writing and they asked why.
they eventually wrote a letter explaining it is equivalent to two years difference in anual benefit but subject to tax and NI.
but they have only given me a few more days to accept it.
Are there any implications to accepting.
i think they will terminate my contract and re-employ me if i refuse the compensation package.
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jobbingmusician

I don't think you have given enough information to get a useful answer. In particular, I am confused by the last sentence 'I think they will terminate by contract and re-employ me'. Are you on a fixed term contract?

Sounds very bizaare to me - they are giving you a one-off payment which is equivalent to the pay cut they are imposing for the next two years? What happens if you leave inside that time?

myskinylegs

They said if i refuse the payment they would terminate then re-employ on new contract.
I dont know what questions to ask if i accept or refuse.
One question was do i keep the ex gratia if i choose to leave in say 3 months or do i pay it back.

jobbingmusician

How long have you worked there? If you have more than 2 years' service, they shouldn't really be able to 'terminate then re-employ on new contract' - either your post is redundant, or it isn't!

myskinylegs

Thank you for your reply I really appreciate this.
I have been with the company 22 years. the company was taken over 2 year ago by tupe.
i am a assistant manager.
They redeuced my hours last year to 14.5 hours but i have only worked about half a dozen 15 hour weeks in the full year to date.
that was another grievance meeting but i lost because they wouldnt listen.
I have never had a contract from this new company, i have had 2 handbooks but the first should not have been given to me and the second had wrong information in it relating to me.
HR said it would be a waste of time coming a 6 hour round trip just to hear me say yes or no to the compensation package. (though that is only from a telephone call and they can deny it was said)
Redundancy is not an open option.
If i accept does this mean i cant ask for voluntary redundancy because i am really getting fed up with all of this.
I wonder if there is some other motive for them to double the package and insist on a rapid response.