Secondments how do they work?

MrINeedOfHelp

Hi all,

Just wanted to find out how secondments work exactly in terms of wages?.

I always assumed one the business perks of secondments is that while there is a need to fill the role you don't necessarily want to pay what the job is worth maybe because of budget reasons etc.... and so that allows you to hire someone who can come in and do the role without receiving the salary to go with it?.

However should there ever be a case where if placed in a secondment your wage would actually decrease?. Do you necessarily get a "contract" of sorts which would outline the demands of the role and it's terms like a normal contract and therefore outline a wage? or should it be a case that when seconded you just assume the role that is required but you are effectively unchanged in terms of a "contract" when it comes to pay, holidays, SSP and all other typical terms?.

TELLIT01

Secondment generally means a temporary move within an organisation, so I can't see any situation where pay would be reduced. All existing t & c's would continue regarding leave etc. There may or may not be an increase in pay during the secondment. That would depend on the comparative level of the jobs.

MrINeedOfHelp

TELLIT01 wrote: »

Secondment generally means a temporary move within an organisation, so I can't see any situation where pay would be reduced. All existing t & c's would continue regarding leave etc. There may or may not be an increase in pay during the secondment. That would depend on the comparative level of the jobs.

Thanks, would you have any idea if additional payments such as a weighting allowance would change?

Technically including weighting the wage is £29k but the secondment is only £23k as they are unwilling to pay the weighting allowance

Gavin83

A secondment is really no different to a normal change of position within a company except it's temporary. They would generally be used to create a person or team for a temporary project, to cover someone while on absence (maternity for example) or to effectively give someone a trial. It's fairly easy for a company to end someones secondment if required but similarly the individual is free to return to their substantive post.

Like any job wages can fluctuate during a secondment, although I fail to see why someone would choose to take a salary cut for one, unless it's an amazing opportunity. No one will choose to take a secondment unless they're getting something out of it.

sangie595

I agree. There is nothing to say that a secondment shouldn't have a lower wage. But people tend not to apply if the wage is lower.

agrinnall

If the primary location is one where a weighting is paid and the secondment location is one where a weighting is not paid then I would say the most usual outcome would be that the weighting would continue to be paid, either for the full duration of the secondment or for a fixed period. If the secondment is a long one then it's possible that non-mandatory pay increases might be witheld until they amount to more than the value of the weighting. However, each company would have it's own rules about this so the only way to know for sure is to ask.

ReadingTim

Secondments are usually used to provide staff with training and development opportunities or to fill short term vacancies where there's a need in one part of the organisation and some slack in another. They're not used to find people on the cheap.

For the employee everything stays the same - they're just doing a different task for a while. So why would their wages change? Unless they're required to change locations or lose an allowance (say for shift work if the secondment is office hours), I can't see how a wage could go down.

Furthermore, while I don't know of any 'law' to prevent it, I would have thought that any secondment which left the employee out of pocket wouldn't have many takers. Any element of compulsion and a refusal to cover any reasonable additional costs associated with the secondment would probably leave the employer open to a case of constructive dismissal.