Paycut looming

robert32

Hi there,

I believe I may be asked to take a paycut in the near future.

I am not totally against doing this, I have a decent CV and am prepared to look elsewhere. It I agree to a 10% paycut, how will that be received by prospective new employers? A lot of jobs offers will be based on an employee's previous salary, so what are my chances of negotiating terms for a new job on a pre-paycut salary?

I don't want to just take a small amount of redundancy and walk away without a source of income. Far too risky.

R.

daytona0

I think any future employer would see a forced paycut as the employer's problem and not yours....

They may even sympathise with you if you try and leave because of it.

TELLIT01

I would put the pre-cut salary on any CV.

TBagpuss

I would never put salary on a CV. In interviews you are normally asked about your salray expectations.
If you are looking for new jobs in the near future then if it comes up you can explain that you were earning X, that you have agreed a temporary pa cut as the company is struggling but that that is not sustainable in the long term, and then say what you are looking for.

I'd also suggest that if your curent employer is looking o get you to agree a pay cut, negotiate - for instnace, you may be able to agree to it for a limited time, or you could consider alternatives - for instnace, if they want to cut our wages by 10% you could propose that your salary remains the same but that you drop 1 half day a week, (or 1 full day per fortnight), and are paid pro-rata. So they would save their 10% but you would still have the same salary to quote as a full time salaray, and more time to do your own thing.

When my company had to make cuts when the receission hit this is what we did - various people agreed to reduce their hours (the alternative would have been redundancies). These reductions were agreed to be for a set period and on the basis that in the event of any redundandcy within the initial set period, the redundancy payment would be based on the original, not the reduced, hours.

It may be worth you speaking with your employers, if they do make the suggestion, to see whether you can come to an agreement that benefits both parties rather than simply accepting a pay cut with nothing in return.

bod1467

TBagpuss wrote: »

I would never put salary on a CV. In interviews you are normally asked about your salary expectations.

Absolutely this.

sh856531

robert32 wrote: »

Hi there,

I believe I may be asked to take a paycut in the near future.

I am not totally against doing this, I have a decent CV and am prepared to look elsewhere. It I agree to a 10% paycut, how will that be received by prospective new employers? A lot of jobs offers will be based on an employee's previous salary, so what are my chances of negotiating terms for a new job on a pre-paycut salary?

I don't want to just take a small amount of redundancy and walk away without a source of income. Far too risky.

R.

2 things.

You don't *have* to accept the change. You get a vote as well. Depending on your current length of service and contract, you could well refuse in writing and have them terminate your employment. They may then need to pay you your notice here though. You may decide being paid for a couple of months whilst you look for a new job is the least bad option here. It all depends on your circumstances but don't make your starting assumption that you are a victim and your employer can dictate new terms.

Second point:

You absolutely don't need to put your previous salary on a CV. Unless it's an awesome number you would be mad to put it down anyway.

Even if asked directly on either an application form or in an interview you *don't need to provide it*. I would either leave the field blank or politely steer the conversation onto what you actually want to talk about, which is what your salary expectations *are*, not what they were.

Don't view the employer as the one holding all the cards. If you act like that, you'll make it true and the employer will get a far better deal than necessary.

HTH

S

robert32

Thanks all. I've started the negotiation process.


Couple of further thoughts that I'd welcome your view on:


1. I don't put my CV on my salary, but am often asked. I like to play a straight bat and state the basic, bonus and mileage/car allowance. From past experience, the offers I have received have been the basic + 10%. I could always be more economical with the truth, but my employer is going to receive a P60 at some point and find out otherwise (I haven't received enough bonus/overtime to mask things).
2. If I refuse to take a paycut - what is the worst case scenario for me? If the company state they have to make cuts and give me the chop, would my company be obliged to pay me for my notice period + 1 week for each year I have been with the company? Would the latter be tax-free, given it would be redundancy pay?




Regards,


R.