Cutting base salary

Jox · 22 May 2018 at 3:30PM

Hi all, I had my appraisal at work last week, my boss took me to a coffee shop for it and told me that he wants to cut my base comp to make an example of me to another lady who is pregnant.

Basically I have been at my job 10 years and had 3 bosses in that time. 4 years ago in 2014 I had my son, I had 6 months maternity leave where I came in to do work every 3 weeks and when I returned to work in July 2014 instead of coming to work 9.30am to 6.30pm I came to work 10am to 7pm to allow me to take my son to childcare. At the time I didn't have a boss as he was got rid of so it was just me and a director in the office. I do all my work and have my phone on me to work at home in evenings and weekends.

This new boss started April 2015 and I explained to him about my requirements and he did say he wasn't happy with it but he has never told me I can't do this or given me a disciplinary or anything official.

2 years ago a lady joined the team and now she is pregnant and my boss told me at my appraisal that he wants to cut my salary to make an example to her to not come in late like me (it doesn't even specify in my contract what my hours are)

Plus he told me I spend too much time in the loo and do I have a medical problem. I feel he is just trying to make digs at me...

I went back to the office upset from the appraisal and a new person who has been with us a year asked me how it went and I told him and he said "the problem with you is that you're trying to fit 8 hours work into 5 hours" so there is a perception of me that I am working 5 hours a day which isn't true. I bring my lunch to work and eat at my desk so don't leave the office during the day.

Should I get some advice about all of this, I'm feeling very upset after 10 years of hard work for this company, 3 bosses, 3 office moves and I am the one person remaining who has been here since the very beginning. We are the UK office and our head office and HR are in another country.

Any thoughts please? Thanks

TELLIT01 · 22 May 2018 at 5:22PM

I assume that UK employment laws apply to the company even if their Head Office and HR are in another one. I can't make out what the basis for wanting to cut your pay is. Are they saying you are underperforming and should therefore be downgraded to a different role? Trying to cut pay as a warning to somebody else makes no sense.

Jox · 22 May 2018 at 5:32PM

Thanks for replying

Yes we are bound by UK employment laws. The irony is that in my appraisal he gave me 5 out of 5s for my performance and there was no dispute there. They have given me extra work in the last year which I have completed.

There was no question of downgrading me or moving me to another role. it just seems that they want to make me uncomfortable and give a warning to another soon to be parent.

ReadingTim · 22 May 2018 at 5:36PM

A company can adjust a salary downwards as well as upwards, so on the face of it, what they're doing isn't illegal. However, your salary should reflect your role, responsibilities, hours, performance, and any adjustment a change in those factors - not as a warning to someone else.

Given the length of time you've been there, and depending on the severity of the pay cut, you could possibly claim for constructive dismissal but you'd have to prove this, including evidence of having exhausted the company's internal complaints/grievance policies before you resigned.

Given this meeting seems to have taken place offsite, and presumably with no write up, the first stage would be to get the appraisal written up and signed by both manager and employer - let's see if they're willing to put their reasons in writing...

Jox · 22 May 2018 at 5:40PM

Thanks very much for this, I will ask for a write up and speak to HR in the other country and perhaps raise a grievance.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser · 22 May 2018 at 6:02PM

It looks to me like they want rid of you. In my personal opinion raising a grievance in such circumstances cannot possibly work out better for you than simply finding another job. This would be by far your best course of action.

If there is no reason you cannot leave this company where you are clearly not valued and find one where you are, I would just start looking.

Jox · 22 May 2018 at 6:11PM

I don't want to be forced out of my job obviously, so if they would like me to leave they should be upfront about it and make me redundant.

When I came back to work after maternity leave in 2014 the director I was working with asked me on multiple occasions, "wouldn't you prefer to be at home with your son".

I'm working to support my family.

prowla · 22 May 2018 at 6:18PM

They don't make a person redundant, but rather the role.

Jox · 22 May 2018 at 6:22PM

They could make my role redundant if that is how they wanted to get rid of me

scd3scd4 · 22 May 2018 at 6:23PM

prowla wrote: »

They don't make a person redundant, but rather the role.

True but they can do what they want..........just call the new role something different and change a few of the duties.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser · 22 May 2018 at 6:39PM

Jox wrote: »

They could make my role redundant if that is how they wanted to get rid of me

But they don't want to; they need the role; they just don't like you. Are you holding out hoping for a redundancy payment, is that what this comes down to?

That's up to you. I'd rather just find a different job. Again, is there any reason you can't? "I don't want to be forced out of my job" is not a reason if there are other equally good or better jobs you could go to.

But as I say, if the point is really that you want to try and get redundancy pay out of it, that's fine; but you'll need to make that clear if you want to get advice that takes it into account.

Cutting base salary

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