My firm are about to announce a 4 or 5 month salary sacrafice in order to keep their heads above water (there have already been redundancies).

It’s looking like it will be 20% of everyone’s salary, and whilst I’m a pissed off about it I have to be realistic as well.

Does anyone on here have any good websites for questions and answers surrounding this topic?

TUC website. Acas maybe

Won’t they just advise everyone to strike?!

and everyone in other companies to ‘come out in sympathy’.

They can’t simply reduce your salary – they need you to agree to it

that happened at our place a month ago (well, debating for several months). Turns out you can’t do a blanket reduction across the company either – unless everyone is in a union and there is a mojority vote within union members to take it. A normal majority vote across non-union employees cannot be implemented because of your individual employment contract with your employer.

So, as we have no union, it had to be accepted on an individual basis. eventually the deal was sweetened with a 4-day week (voluntary fridays), and we had 91% of eligible employees (those who wouldn’t drop below min wage) accept the deal. It was that or more redundancies though…

If you were a union member you would get this advice of course.

Suppose it all depends whether you feel they are taking the piss – what is trade like in your sector? have you notice a big drop off in work? or do you feel they are just looking for a cheeky way to reduce their costs?

And is there any kind of measure to say that when profits rise that the old salaries will resume?

Ignore that post – 4 or 5 months on lower salary. Doh.

Thanks TJ I spoke to ACAS and they gave me some links for further reading on “variation of contract”, they DIDNT tell me to strike which was a surprise and they didn’t call me “comrade” even once!

The parent company is in financial trouble, I genuinly don’t believe their taking the piss but it’s shit all the same.

If anyone has any sites other than direct.gov and businesslink.gov please let me know

Thanks

FWIW the term ‘salary sacrifice’ is normally used in conjunction with receiving some other benefit in lieu of salary:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/eimanual/EIM42750.htm

Had this happen some years ago where I work, for about 6 months, fortuntely we were bought up/things picked up and most of us got the missing cash back via a product-ship bonus.

I dunno the answer, but one thing to be wary of is how it might affect any payout if you were subsequently made redundant whilst on the reduced salary.

(ACAS) DIDNT tell me to strike which was a surprise and they didn’t call me “comrade” even once!

ACAS would never tell anyone to strike I’m sure!

Thanks TJ I spoke to ACAS and they gave me some links for further reading on “variation of contract”, they DIDNT tell me to strike which was a surprise and they didn’t call me “comrade” even once!

Congratulations on overcoming your incredibly prejudiced views of trade unions.

ACAS aren’t a TU!

I wonder if he managed to get on the TUC site – or did it reject him 🙂

It actually has some good advice and links for this sort of stuff IIRC

Ask for stock instead of the missing salary, the only way I would consider a sacrifice and recommended in one of the papers recently. I’ll dig around and see if I can find the link.
PLC or family firm? If it’s family and the boss hasn’t sacrificed anything I’d be looking for a new employer.

One atrticle on shares for salary at BA

They did this where I work. No union so the directors set the example by taking a 10% cut across the board then asking staff to do the same if they felt they could. Lots of people did, it meant that 19 people (inc me) got made redundant instead of the 30 or so they’d been looking at originally.

When things inproved the company started taking redundant people back on – I was out of work for 3 months before being re-employed (on a lower wage) – but they are gradually bringing staff salaries back to what they were 2.5% at a time. It was made clear that there would be no pay rises until all salaries were back to what they were and the company was settled down again, also that individuals who had sacrified salary would be dealt with preferentially when it came to future pay rises/promotions etc.

Work for a very large IT Services company who have been brought by a larger IT company who make hardware and want to get into IT services.

Despite that the fact that we are on course to make a very significant profit we are are being asked to take a pay reduction and accept that there will be redundancies. The pay is being cut and no commitment has been made by the company to return it to its current level when times are better, no commitment that the to reduce the number of redundancies or any offset for the pay reduction.

As we are non-unionised every individual has to be asked for their consent to allow their pay to be reduced. Based on talking around I reckon if they get over 5% agreement they will be doing well.

Remember that taking the pay cut affects pensions, insurance and ability to get a mortgage. There appears to be one of two companies using the current problems as a means of reducing their cost base rather than trying to get through a short term crisis.