Fire and Rehired by employer

[my real name]

My employer wants to fire and rehire me on a poorer hourly rate of pay and loss of premium pay.
Currently i work a night shift Sunday to Thursday (10PM-6AM) 37.5 hrs per week. I am in England.
The reason giving by the company is to rely less on agency staff and have people in the warehouse over the weekend period.
Contract states

"HOURS OF WORK

Your contacted hours of work will be paid 37.5 per week. Your normal hours of work will be Sunday to Thursday 10 PM to 6 AM. You will not work more than 5 days in any one week unless otherwise agreed by yourself."

"It may be necessary, as the demands of the business change ,to review or alter the start and finish times of the current shifts, and/or introduce a second or third shift. In both these cases you may be required to change your working patterns and will be given notice prior to any changes coming into effect".

After i started my employment the company have started 2 or 3 new shifts (INCLUDING Fri-Mon 10 pm-6 AM Fri-Mon 6 AM-2 PM), but i was not asked to do them. the company stopped these shifts as part of this process but the people who used to work weekend night shift were on a higher rate of pay than my shift.



The contract then goes on to state it maybe necessary for overtime to be worked , it will be offered on a voluntary basis first but if insufficient number people volunteer i will be expected to work.
So on that basis i filled in a availability form saying i was available to work 10 pm - 6 am Sunday to Sunday (so i could fill my obligations of my contract if overtime was required). I have never been asked to work overtime so basically have just worked 10 pm - 6 am Sunday to Thursday since the contract started in 2016.


The new hours i will be asked to work are a 4 on 4 off shift 6 pm - 6am

11.5hrsx182 nights= 2093hrs
£22461.53/2093hrs= £10.73 P/H

My contract now Sun-Thu 10 pm-6 am


£8.72x7.5hrsx5daysx52weeks=£17,004
add shift allowance £4.370.60=£21,374.60
ROP= £10.96P/H

Hourly rate will increase from £8.72 to £9.27 .

In addition to the lower ROP ( because of loss of night shift premiums) the company will also not pay extra for bank holidays , i will also not get a day in lieu as i have to work them under my current contract.

"Payment for working for a Bank Holiday will be at standard rate as it will form part of your average
standard weekly payment. Absence on a statutory bank holiday will be treated as a standard
day’s absence and the absence will be treated in line with Company Policy."

Overtime will be cut to those that work it from time and a half to time and a third.

Also when times are busy i can be flexed up , so i can work 8 extra shifts a year for no payment , but when it is not so busy i can take them 8 days back.

There have been a group consultations going on since mid January and the personal ones start the week after next and last for 3 weeks (1 a week)

The company says if i want to leave they will pay me £250 for every full year i have been there as long as i sign the form that stops me from taking them to industrial tribunal at a later date.

Thanks in advance

Is the £250 offer the best i can expect from the company or would i have a case at tribunal?

[MIKE770]

Ula should be able to advise?

[MIKE770]

look out your contract just in case asked for?

[ULA]

To vary contracts of employment then a company needs to follow a fair process to implement a significant change in terms and conditions if they do not want to face claims, so they need to fully consult with you and agree any changes. If you do not agree the law does recognise that employers have to adapt to changing market conditions, and that sometimes the contract of employment must be varied to reflect this.

From what you have said it does sounds like your employer is going through a period of consultation and when these come to you as an individual then you need to raise any objections and concerns. If your employer has given reasonable and due consideration to objections and alternative suggestions that you put forward, but deem those suggestions to be unworkable, then they can terminate your original contract and offer a new one in its place on the new terms.

If you do not agree to the changes, then you must make it clear to your employer. You should do this in writing, sign and date your letter, and keep a copy. This letter will count as a written grievance. If you do not tell your employer you disagree with a change, this will be taken to mean that you have accepted it. You should do this straight away, or as soon as possible after the change has been introduced.

You can continue to work 'under protest' for a while but you cannot do this indefinitely without taking further action. This may mean making a claim to an employment tribunal, or, in some extreme situations, resigning from your job and claiming, constructive unfair dismissal. If you do not want to do either of these things, you may eventually have to accept the changes to your contract. There are strict time limits for making a claim to an employment tribunal.

If your company is offering to "pay you to leave" and give up your right to make a claim then they need to do so by way of a Settlement Agreement (SA) in which case they will need to pay a contribution for you to seek independent legal advice. Part of the advice will be around the level of payment your company is giving you firstly, based on the circumstances that have led to the situation and secondly, consideration the rights that you are giving up to bring any claim.

[my real name]

Thanks ULA

I will ask about the contribution to seek independent advice, although i am in the union ,i have little faith in them, although i can ask to speak to there legal team.

They started the process 2 years a go at first on a voluntary basis, because only a few people took them up on the offer then then offered the jobs to those on agency contracts (some of the agency staff took the jobs for job security reasons).
Then last year they offered the "take it or leave it" to existing contracted members of staff from the .com side of the business, now its our turn on retail.

From what your saying i think my only complaint will be about the accuracy of the information they have provided in the consultation document provided .

I still await to see an actual copy of the new contract they expect me to sign.

Thanks again

[my real name]

Sorry forgot to ask
Also just to make sure the day shift will be seeing s small pay rise for taking up the offer, but nights will loose money , would that count as discrimination?

[ULA]

It's unlikely to be discrimination unless you can prove it is because of a protected characteristic such as race, gender, etc.

[my real name]

Hi just an update i have had 2 of my 3 consultation meetings in regards to the company changing my terms and conditions, on the next meeting i have got to sign or be fired (although they said they will probably reengage).
I have spoken to Acas who seem to agree with me that the new terms and conditions will not pay the minimum wage when i am "flexed up" (without pay,this is a new term and condition) and paid back in time in lieu months later (Acas say the time in lieu should be paid back in the same/next pay period (weekly pay)) .
Also the employer wants to average out my earnings so i pick up the same every week (because its 4 on 4 off sometimes i will work 4 days sometimes 3 days in a 7 day period). When i work 4 days would it be the case, i will also not be paid the minimum wage (ill be getting paid for 3.5 days).

Anyways if the above turns out to be true what should i do, sign and write "signed under protest" go through the grievance procedure and see what happens or just not sign and let them fire me. Probably would prefer to leave anyways.

Hope that makes sense

Thanks

[ULA]

Ultimately I cannot decide for you, it will need to be your decision based on the possible options I set out for you at post #4.

At your next consultation it may also be worth finding out if the settlement agreement is still an "on the table" from your employer which you mentioned in your original post.