Pay Cuts Info

Smashee

Hiya, our boss announced in a verbal meeting just over 2 weeks ago that we were all getting a wage decrease in our next pay packet. I just have a couple of questions on this because I'm not sure what sort of rights we have, if any.

About half of us signed a contract about 2/3 years ago ... I know my one is quite old because the company merged with another company in the meantime and it's still got the old name on it. I was never asked to sign anything else ever ... so is this contract still valid?

Just in case it is I have a few questions ... Under wages it doesn't say anything much about their right to change anything but under 'Change in Terms of Employment' it does state that they reserve the right to make reasonable changes to any of the terms and conditions of employment and that we'll be notified by way of notice at least one month in advance of the date of said change. Does that mean they have every right to change wages after having a verbal meeting with us, where we received nothing in writing, without us having to agree or sign anything?

I'm really mad at the moment because I've just discovered that they've spent €10k on a client hospitality evening ... and they're cutting our wages to protect the company against the recession ... wtf!!! :mad:

Sleipnir

Actually signing a contract doesn't really mean anything. Employers are not actually required to give you a written contract of employment.

Anyone who works for an employer in Ireland for a regular wage or salary automatically has a contract of employment, regardless of whether it is written or not.

Regardless of that, any changes to your contract of employment must be agreed upon before they can actually come into effect.

If your employer asks you to work fewer hours or take a pay cut, this is a change to your contract of employment. Any change to your contract of employment must be agreed by both you and your employer.

Simply putting "we reserve the right to change anything" doesn't neccessarily mean they can.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/employment/employment-rights-and-conditions/contracts-of-employment/being-asked-to-reduce-your-hours-of-work

http://www.employmentrights.ie/en/

efb

Maybe that 10K spend on the client do, will be used to generate revenue to pay your new 90% salaries for the remainder of the year.

How long would 10K go on staff salaries?

An employer is required to provide you with a statement of employment btw.

Sleipnir

efb wrote: »

An employer is required to provide you with a statement of employment btw.

Yeah, you're right actually.

he Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 and 2001 provide that an employer is obliged to provide an employee with a written statement of terms of employment within the first two months of the commencement of employment.

The statement of terms must include the following information:

The full name of employer and employee
The address of the employer
The place of work
The title of job or nature of work
The date the employment started
If the contract is temporary, the expected duration of the contract
If the contract of employment is for a fixed term, the details
The rate of pay or method of calculation of pay
The pay reference period for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000
*Pay intervals
*Hours of work
*Details of paid leave
*Sick pay and pension (if any)
*Period of notice to be given by employer or employee
*Details of any collective agreements that may affect the employee’s terms of employment

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/employment/employment-rights-and-conditions/contracts-of-employment/contract_of_employment

gurramok

You need to join a union to negotiate on your behalf.

Smashee

Sorry now but we just had news about a week about that two of our major clients are staying with us (we were renegotiating contracts), granted they've asked us to do everything at a lower price but in my opinion ... spending 10k on a client night is a bit of an extravagance, especially when they're cutting our wages ... why not spend 1k? I know exactly what they're spending it on and it's not like they're even doing it on a budget ... they've gone for the absolute high end on it. You know we had a budget of 1.5k for our Xmas party last year ... yet they'll spend a fortune on entertaining clients, when we're the ones here making sure that day to day the clients are happy. I think it's a disgrace, I think the way they've put it across is a disgrace, they basically told us that as of next month our wages are being cut ... nothing in writing ... which is against the law. They think we're worthless ... and now the 10k thing ... I now feel that there's a huge lack of trust.

How do I know that they're not just cutting costs for the benefits of the business ... in order to increase profit? We already have to do overtime for nothing.

ceret

Smashee wrote: »

How do I know that they're not just cutting costs for the benefits of the business ... in order to increase profit? We already have to do overtime for nothing.

I know what you mean. I was in a similar situation myself where pay cuts were blamed on the recession. I was a bit doubtful of it though.