Employment contract questions

[frankhovis]

Not sure if this should be in the jobs section, so apologies if so.

The company I work for has announced they are going to be cutting back and while we have no details yet, we're guessing its going to be quite a lot of job losses, possibly half the workforce. The majority of people are on a different (older) type contract whereby they receive 3 weeks redundancy pay for every year employed. The newer contract is the standard 1 week per year guff.

No union here, so we are on our own.

Can the company change the terms of the old contracts in any way before people are made redundant? Also, can the contracts change for the remaining employees without some kind of compensation?

I've got a lot of people on my shift that are ever so slightly worried, so told them I would turn to PH for some answers!

Cheers.

[Jasandjules]

They can't change the terms of the contract before making you redundant i.e. to reduce the payments to employees.

They can ask you to sign a new contract and if you refuse (as in if you are being kept on) then dismiss you, your payment would be whatever you were entitled to but you'd have to go to court to get it, and they would just offer it to you anyways to save the costs.

So basically, you are pretty scr***d, IMHO.

[mickk]

Interesting as my company are in the process of doing the same. They have laid people off with there correct redundancy money and now they are sending out new contracts which enables them to give us a weeka notice.

Ive been there over 15 years

[Jasandjules]

mickk said:

Interesting as my company are in the process of doing the same. They have laid people off with there correct redundancy money and now they are sending out new contracts which enables them to give us a weeka notice.

Ive been there over 15 years

Then if you refuse to accept the new terms they would have to make you redundant on the old contract....... Which in your case is 15 weeks money...

[frankhovis]

Thanks for the replies.

I don't think it's as bad as some of the guys thought then. All they are interested in is getting their correct payment if they should be made redundant. For some of the printers that have been there 15+ years, it will be a £40k payout. If they could take that and get offered another job on different terms, they would be over the moon!!

However you look at it, it's still st really.

[nonegreen]

mickk said:

Interesting as my company are in the process of doing the same. They have laid people off with there correct redundancy money and now they are sending out new contracts which enables them to give us a weeka notice.

Ive been there over 15 years

Regardless of their contract the legal minimum is 1 week for every year of service up to the age of 41 then 1.5 weeks for every year of service up to age 60 when it reverts back to 1 weeks pay for every year of service. This is based of course on the legal minimum weekly pay which is around £350.00 PER WEEK. If they pay you less than this then simply call acas and they will sequestrate the correct ammount following confirmation from a tribuneral.

[Road2Ruin]

frankhovis said:

Thanks for the replies.

I don't think it's as bad as some of the guys thought then. All they are interested in is getting their correct payment if they should be made redundant. For some of the printers that have been there 15+ years, it will be a £40k payout. If they could take that and get offered another job on different terms, they would be over the moon!!

Sadly not £40k. The maximum that could be paid out (unless contract terms are different) is for a man over 41 years old. 20years employment x 1.5 weeks pay (up to a maximum of £350.00) so 20 x 1.5 x £350.00 = £10,500. (tax free of course). If as you say some of them are entitled to more weeks per year the change the 1.5 bit, however this would be taxable.

Pete

[frankhovis]

Road2Ruin said:

frankhovis said:

Thanks for the replies.

I don't think it's as bad as some of the guys thought then. All they are interested in is getting their correct payment if they should be made redundant. For some of the printers that have been there 15+ years, it will be a £40k payout. If they could take that and get offered another job on different terms, they would be over the moon!!

Sadly not £40k. The maximum that could be paid out (unless contract terms are different) is for a man over 41 years old. 20years employment x 1.5 weeks pay (up to a maximum of £350.00) so 20 x 1.5 x £350.00 = £10,500. (tax free of course). If as you say some of them are entitled to more weeks per year the change the 1.5 bit, however this would be taxable.

Pete

If I understand the old contract terms correctly, it pays 3 weeks for every year you have been there. The weekly amount is based on your last 12 months earnings (which includes lots of overtime) and its uncapped. Hence all the debate about potential contract changes.

Some of the terms in the old newpaper contracts are pretty good. Shame I'm on the bloody new one

Edited by frankhovis on Monday 23 March 16:02

Edited by frankhovis on Monday 23 March 16:02