reducing salary

[CURVEDAIR]

New boy here. Looking for clues. I am a sales rep. My company want to change my terms and conditions. They want to reduce my basic salary, but offer a higher commission, thus in thier terms not altering my pay. Question is, they are doing this because of needs of the business, usual catch all, so i probably cant argue. But I dont need to agree the changes? And if i dont sign new contract, and dont resign, it is implied I accept? And finally, whats the chances of winning a tribunal on this one? By the way there are several sales reps here so would we be better off discussing as a collective? Hope this is understandable - forum virgin!

[leclerc]

Re: reducing salary

New boy here. Looking for clues. I am a sales rep. My company want to change my terms and conditions. They want to reduce my basic salary, but offer a higher commission, thus in thier terms not altering my pay.
The basic salary is the guaranteed part of your pay so whether they are offering a higher commission or not, you are having your pay reduced. Can you guarantee that your commisssion will remain the same?

Question is, they are doing this because of needs of the business, usual catch all, so i probably cant argue. But I dont need to agree the changes? And if i dont sign new contract, and dont resign, it is implied I accept? And finally, whats the chances of winning a tribunal on this one? By the way there are several sales reps here so would we be better off discussing as a collective? Hope this is understandable - forum virgin!

Are you in a Union? Are the union negotiating with management?
Have they asked you to a meeting to discuss the changes?

[frisp]

Re: reducing salary

I'm not an employment expert but I've seen this sort of thing a couple of times most recently with the OH

They probably can and will make the changes required but they need to have a consultation period first registering the views of all those affected. Consultation should include asking the staff to suggest alternatives to their action etc.

If the majority agree to the changes and you're the last to hold out then they can make you a final offer if you refuse this its probable they will make you redundant.

Bottom line - Any tribunal will look at whether or not they are being reasonable in their action.

On first glance they are transferring the risk of your pay and allowances to you i.e. if you don't make your targets then they make savings on their bottom line. This could be seen as being unreasonable.

I concur with the advice above if you're in a union then get them to deal with it, if not then citizen advice is another good place to seek advice.

In every meeting request that minutes are taken and that records of what is said are agreed.

have a read on the DirectGov site loadsa info that might help Employment : Directgov

[enaid]

Re: reducing salary

ACAS and Pay and Employment Rights are also a good source of info.
Enaid x

[paulb2905]

Re: reducing salary

Im not an expert by any means either but heres my input;

They cant force you to accept a change in pay conditions without you agreeing to it, eg signing.
If the company is having problems with cash they should carry out a "consultation" as frisp has already said.
If they make you redudant following your non-acceptance of the change in pay structure im pretty sure this would be deemed constructive dismissal.
You could make a "counter" offer, eg a 3/6/12 month guarantee of commission to the level of your basic pay prior to change - eg they agree to pay commission to the amount to "top up" your pay so that you are not out of pocket.

As a former salesperson i can understand your issues, but also understand the company culture around higher commissions, lower basic as a sales "incentive" and to drive sales people to do better

[Luminol]

Re: reducing salary

You could also try home - from workSMART.org.uk they might have some info for you.

[postggj]

Re: reducing salary

Google The Employment Rights Act 1996

Local Agreement Between Staff Or Colective Bargning Will Over Ride Statute Provision

If The Other Staff Have Agreed To The Changes Then Implied Consent Will Be Elevated Into Your Contract Of Employment

ONLY 5 % OF CONTRUSTIVE DISMISSAL CLAIMS ARE UPHELD

[frisp]

Re: reducing salary

Google The Employment Rights Act 1996

Local Agreement Between Staff Or Colective Bargning Will Over Ride Statute Provision

If The Other Staff Have Agreed To The Changes Then Implied Consent Will Be Elevated Into Your Contract Of Employment

ONLY 5 % OF CONTRUSTIVE DISMISSAL CLAIMS ARE UPHELD

S'wot I said earlier if everyone agrees and you're the last then you're the one that is being unreasonable.

Get some employment advice from Citizens Advice would be best

[leclerc]

Re: reducing salary

I recently went through the consultation process at work. Here is how it worked then. They invited colleagues to meetings on a group basis and 1 to 1 basis. At the one to one meeting they asked whether you wanted to voluntarily reduce your hours(No was my answer). There was then talk with the unions who basically said that they couldn't do it and if they did then they would take legal action against the company for breach of contract(the important thing was that they had to prove there was a business need).
In your case, I can't see how they can prove there is a business need to reduce your basic salary since they have increased the bonuses. Why do they simply not change the parameters of the bonuses on offer which means that some people might get less favourable bonuses(since those bonuses are at the discretion of the company anyway).