News: Contract Law
Training 'highlights contract dangers posed by pay cuts'
20 January 2009
Employers may need contract law training if they are to correctly handle imposing a pay cut on their staff, an expert asserts.
Rachel Dineley, a partner at legal firm Beachcroft, tells Personnel Today making a unilateral change of this sort can be considered a breach of contract if it is not dealt with properly.
She says workers do not have to accept any proposed alterations unless they have agreed to be bound by a group decision and a manager imposing this may have to set up a formal consultation or dismiss staff members who are unwilling to take a pay cut.
If a boss making this decision has not received contract law training and breaches contracts by making a unilateral change, Ms Dineley warns it can lead to consequences for the firm.
She tells the news provider: "The employee will then be in a position to bring a claim for unlawful deduction from wages and/or, if they have resigned, constructive dismissal."
Recently, the UK Border Agency suspended a worker who was revealed to be part of the British National Party.
Highlighting the importance of contract law training, this action was possible due to the incorporation of a term into the organisation's employment contract requiring workers to confirm they were not part of far-right political groups.
