Employee Consultation - What are my rights?

[UltraVires]

Hi,

A "consultation" has been launched at my place of work and I was hoping someone could give advice on the things I can challenge etc.

The following is a bit of a summary of each major change, any advice would be appreciated:

1) Provision of 3 days holiday instead of closing the office around Christmas - Up til now, our office closed between Christmas and New year but from next year it will remain open and the company have said it would provide 3 days entitlement so you could book the same days off if you wanted. (My issue is that it will become a lottery and it is hard enough to get holidays in the first place.)

2) Removal of Flexi Time - I currently get flexi time so I can come and go as I please (within reason!) but from 1 Jan this will be removed. In my contract it states that the company can do this with one month's notice but I have spoken to a colleague and he suggested that even if the contract states they can remove flexi time with notice, the change still has to be MUTUALLY agreed. Is this right?

3) Changes to pay - At interview I was told that the company had 3 tiers to the pay scale for my role. After 1 year, I would jump to the middle tier and after 2 years, I would go to the top tier. I am nearly two years into my contract but a month before my first year was up, it reviewed the pay structure and changed it completely.

The way it works now is that an employees wage can only increase by a set amount each year (5%) so in essence it will take me 10 years to get to the same wage as it would have taken me 2 years to get to based on what I was told at interview. I realise that this happened several months ago but it is something I have raised ever since and as part of the consultation I should get the chance to sit down with someone in HR/Management so it is something I want to raise again.

One final question I would have is that according to ACAS, an existing contract can only be varied with the consent of both parties - If that is the case, what could the company do if i refuse to accept the changes? They are pretty set on making them so i'd be keen to know what the consequences might be if i stick to my guns.

Hopefully that isnt too long winded and gives enough detail, I would really appreciate any advice anyone has to offer.

Thanks!

[matt3942]

Re: Employee Consultation - What are my rights?

Hi [MENTION=73869]UltraVires[/MENTION]

Hopefully someone else will confirm my understanding shortly.

For Point 2, if there is an express term in your contract, which says Flexi Time can be removed with one month's notice, then your employer can remove Flexi Time without your agreement, so long as you are given one month's notice.

As for the other points, if the consultation fails to reach an agreement, your employer can terminate your contract by serving you with the required notice, and immediately re-hire you on a new contract. The reason for your dismissal will be 'Some Other Substantial Reason', and your employer will need a reasonably sound reason to justify this.

It seems to me that your options are somewhat limited if this does happen. You can continue working but make it clear you do not accept the new contract (i.e. work under protest); however, IMO this isn't likely to achieve anything - the changes don't seem significant enough to bring a claim for breach of contract or constructive unfair dismissal.

The alternative is to bring a claim for unfair dismissal when you achieve two-years' qualifying service. The Employment Tribunal will consider the reason for your dismissal, and whether you were consulted properly. Unfortunately if your employer has a sound business reason for imposing the change (which I suspect it will have), and if it has consulted properly (which it seems to be in the process of doing) then your dismissal is likely to be considered fair.

That's probably not what you were hoping for but I do hope it helps.

- Matt

[UltraVires]

Re: Employee Consultation - What are my rights?

Thanks Matt, I really appreciate you telling it as it is even though it isnt what I was hoping to hear.

[matt3942]

Re: Employee Consultation - What are my rights?

No problem - hopefully someone will agree with me or amend my advice.

It's not just about what you can do legally, it's about whether you're likely to be successful.

Do keep us posted.

- Matt