Short time working.

asdfasdfasdf

I have a small business, which in the current climate, is losing over a thousand euro per week. I have had it less than a year but have a staff member who has been employed with my predecessor and myself for about nine years. I now need to reduce her wage rate or her hours but she says she carnt afford this.

I did give her a new contract when I took over, but she never brought it back to me so I guess I am in limbo. This person really is a valued member of staff, but I am in a serious financial situation and need to make cuts to survive. The situation is well known as I have kept my staff in the loop and they can see how bad business really is. Anyone know where I can find information about this. Oasis and the labour court is vague on this matter.

Anyone any input on this or can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thank you.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

ScouseMouse

Yes, he should bring in cuts, but can it be done without fear of JLC / Labour court. I think he is trying to cover all the angles.

A fair question is, in times of economic hardship, can a company reduce a staff members hourly rate or working hours WITHOUT their appoval.

I can see the labour court on the horizon.....

Trump

You did mention that you have kept your staff in the loop regarding the business so it would imply that you have more than one staff on the payroll.

Why have you decided to get rid of this particular person..? or cut down their hours..? This person would know your business very well at this stage.

Also getting rid of staff will not hide the fact that your business is losing over a thousand euro a week. Where has this business gone..?
What has happened..?

You have not mentioned the type of business you are in so I cannot offer any strategic advice on this.

Look deeper into your business and get to the bones of why you are losing this money.

asdfasdfasdf

Trump wrote: »

You did mention that you have kept your staff in the loop regarding the business so it would imply that you have more than one staff on the payroll.

Why have you decided to get rid of this particular person..? or cut down their hours..? This person would know your business very well at this stage.

Also getting rid of staff will not hide the fact that your business is losing over a thousand euro a week. Where has this business gone..?
What has happened..?

You have not mentioned the type of business you are in so I cannot offer any strategic advice on this.

Look deeper into your business and get to the bones of why you are losing this money.

I dont want to get rid of this person. They are an honest reliable employee. I have laid off some young new staff, have reduced other staffs hours (by agreement and understanding), but this last person who is the most expensive of them all is telling me they cannot afford to do anything.

The business is currently suffering from a combination of economy, customer spending, rising costs and poor reputation. Its turnover has risen 15% under my control but since the big drop in retail since the start of July, the business has dropped substantially. Not just in this store, all over the country.

Back to the main point. I have one staff member who, possibly right or wrong, says she cannot afford a pay reduction. Can I put her onto a lower rate or even a four/three day week for a while without her agreement. It will cause conflict, but in the retail industry at present, there are alot of places facing going to the wall.

After cutting my own wages as I am expensive due to S1 tax band (director), I am facing maybe even totally forsaking a wage for the next month or two.

Bandara

have you looking into making them redundant ?

Redundancy Payments Scheme

The purpose of the Redundancy Payments Scheme, which is administered by the Redundancy Payments Section of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, is to compensate workers under the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 2003, for the loss of their jobs by reason of redundancy. Compensation is based on the workers’ length of reckonable service and reckonable weekly remuneration, subject to a current ceiling of €600 per week.

Statutory redundancy lump sums, which are tax-free, are generally paid by the employer who is then entitled to a rebate from the State of 60% of the relevant amount. In case of employer default, the statutory redundancy lump sum entitlement is paid in full to the employee(s), from the Social Insurance Fund, by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. In such cases, the Department seeks to recover the monies so paid (which have priority status in a winding-up) from the employer.

In May 2003, an increase in statutory redundancy rates pursuant to the “Sustaining Progress” Agreement, amounting to two weeks pay for every year of service, together with a bonus week.

The second improvement, again following “Sustaining Progress” negotiations, increased the maximum figure for gross weekly earnings to €600 with effect from 1 January 2005.


19 weeks x 600 (maximum) = 11400

60% tax back = 6840

Cost to you = 4560

And you save his/her wages for the rest of the year which if its 600 a week means in under 2 months you will have saved in wages what you had to pay them in redundancy.

If you are losing a grand a week you really need to do something very fast, most likely you will need to cut more than one member of staff. Or alternately you need to decide if there is a future in the company, no point in clinging on and running yourself into the ground with debts.

Good luck with it, I hope you get sorted out.