Still working but wage reduction to 80%

Blue2222

My company is expecting me to carry on working full time but has reduced my wage to 80%, I understand the government pays furlough but it doesn’t seem right to have to work full time from home for the same % of my salary that people are getting for not working at all- I don’t know what if any options I have and feel used and powerless to do anything about it.

bradders1983

Does your contract of employment allow them to do it?

mickd27

Hi! I was getting paid 85% of my wage and working less hours but when the furlough scheme came into play my company saw it as a no brainer to just furlough me to save money. This is purely down to the fact we aren’t busy at all rather than we physically can’t do any work. 

I don’t think there’s much you can do. If the company need you to work then they don’t need to furlough you. A wage reduction is a lot better than redundancy so maybe see the positives. 

Jeremy535897

The issue arises from a confusion over reduction in pay and CJRS. CJRS was originally designed to support employers by paying 80% of an employee's wage as a grant, so the employer had a viable alternative to making the employee redundant.

Most employers have taken this as authority to reduce pay by 20%, so the furloughed employee costs them nothing. The problem is that it is quite hard to justify reducing some employees' pay by 20%, but not others doing the same job, even though some will be furloughed, and some won't. Employers probably take little persuading that the safest course of action is to reduce everyone's pay by 20%.

Employees have to agree to be furloughed, but the agreement does not have to be in writing. Employers are often overlooking the fact that if their furlough agreement also includes a pay reduction, that almost always does require employee agreement in writing.

Blue2222

It’s that I still have to work full time but have my wages reduced.. that’s not the same as being furloughed where I don’t have to work.. I’m also expected to finish all my work regardless of whether that takes even extra hours. I understand some people are working front line in scary awful conditions and am not detracting from that but it still doesn’t seem right to have to work full time while colleagues are paid the same % for doing nothing.. at least reduced hours in line with the reduced salary seems a fairer principle.

Blue2222

bradders1983 said:

Does your contract of employment allow them to do it?

Well they have regardless!!

Jeremy535897

Blue2222 said:

It’s that I still have to work full time but have my wages reduced.. that’s not the same as being furloughed where I don’t have to work.. I’m also expected to finish all my work regardless of whether that takes even extra hours. I understand some people are working front line in scary awful conditions and am not detracting from that but it still doesn’t seem right to have to work full time while colleagues are paid the same % for doing nothing.. at least reduced hours in line with the reduced salary seems a fairer principle.

What would be fairer would be to rotate furlough (3 weeks on, 3 weeks off ) between employees.

yksi

Blue2222 said:

bradders1983 said:

Does your contract of employment allow them to do it?

Well they have regardless!!

Bradders1983 had a reason for asking, employers cannot just reduce your pay without asking. You have to agree to a change in your contract. You have an employment contract that you'll be paid X. What does it say and does it have a clause allowing them to reduce pay (this is very rare)?