Change of job role & pay cut due to Disability

pinkfly

Hi!

I have just returned to work for my employer of 10 years, after 7 months off sick (MS Relapse). I use a wheelchair & my employer has made reasonable adjustments for my return , including a demotion with a pay cut (because I can't fulfil my old job role according to them ),so I'm now back on the minimum wage after 10 years of working my way up ! (Retail) .
I've tried looking online about demotion due to disability but can't see anything about pay cuts. Can someone advise if they believe the pay cut to be reasonable or unreasonable ? I'm doing the same jobs as I was before I became wheelchair bound , the only difference is that I'm no longer a key holder for the premises as I was before (this is the basis they demoted on ). Also yet to have a risk assessment .

anamenottaken

pinkfly wrote: »

Hi!

I have just returned to work for my employer of 10 years, after 7 months off sick (MS Relapse). I use a wheelchair & my employer has made reasonable adjustments for my return , including a demotion with a pay cut (because I can't fulfil my old job role according to them ),so I'm now back on the minimum wage after 10 years of working my way up ! (Retail) .
I've tried looking online about demotion due to disability but can't see anything about pay cuts. Can someone advise if they believe the pay cut to be reasonable or unreasonable ? I'm doing the same jobs as I was before I became wheelchair bound , the only difference is that I'm no longer a key holder for the premises as I was before (this is the basis they demoted on ). Also yet to have a risk assessment .

If the entire increase in your pay was due to being a keyholder and you no longer will be having that responsibility then is seems perfectly reasonable that you don't receive the pay for something you no longer do.

Is anyone else doing the same sort of work as you will now be doing? If so, are they also on minimum wage? If they are, then it may be difficult to argue you are due more.

If they receive more pay, then it would appear you have had more than the keyholder responsibility of your pay removed which does not seem fair legally. This is not to say that all workers should be on the same pay but that, in this particular instance, it could indicate there had been an unfair change to your pay apparently arising from your disability.

If there is nobody else doing the same work as you are now to do, perhaps look at the quantum of the drop and whether that sum seems fair for the responsibility you had.

pinkshoes

Why are you no longer a key holder?

pinkfly

I'm no longer a key holder because I can't reach the lock whilst sitting down

Thankyou for the reply (first poster) & for taking the time to reply x
Trouble is I'm doing the same work as before under the supervisor heading (what supervisors do), whilst I'm there . The only difference is that I can't open /shut the premises like before but being a key holder isn't the only criteria to be a supervisor and recieve supervisors pay . There are supervisors there who don't hold keys , so the same work as me yet get the pay ,

InsideInsurance

pinkfly wrote: »

because I can't fulfil my old job role according to them

This sounds bitter but then you seem to later say its reasonable to say you cannot do the old job?

I think to be honest there needs to be more background about what you did before your disability and what you are doing now etc.

I cant think of a way to word this without sounding negative so apologies in advance if you take offence but it isnt intended. You say you have spent 10 years "working your way up" but the only additional duty you mention beyond the NMW entry level job is being a keyholder. Were you actually something more? A department manager? Team leader?

If the only additional duty you had you can no longer fulfill then it does sound reasonable that you are no longer paid for it. If however you were a higher role and you can still do the rest of the duty except being a keyholder it would be much more questionable on if that one task is sufficient to say you cannot do the whole job and so it would go back to the question of if your health issues and constraints on their adaptations would reduce your ability to deliver your tasks

FBaby

Does the fact you are not a key holder any longer affect the hours you can do, ie. key holder, closes up, last one on the premises type of thing.

It sounds very unkind if legal to have affected your pay cut on the basis that you can't do something physical as a result of disability. I wish you good luck with this matter.

Another_not_new_user

The employer has made reasonable adjustments. Did you agree to these? Certainly, by returning to work that implies that you did. One of those adjustments was what you describe as a demotion - did you agree to this? If you didn't, why did you return to work?


It is impossible to say that it is reasonable or unreasonable on this information - and in the end ONLY an employment tribunal make that decision. So how far would you be willing to take an argument, if you have one? And an important factor in that will be why you have returned to work and therefore, in law, probably agreed to the change.