Pay rises and change of contract help

[c00kiemonster]

Im posting this on behalf of a friend of mine.

 

My friend is a multi drop driver. He and other drivers he works with, work a 4 day week normally Monday to Thursday on 12 hr shifts.

He is paid from 10am to 9pm with an hours guaranteed O/T from 9 till 10pm each day.

 

Lately since all the rounds have gone quieter the drivers are finishing early, some as early as 5pm, but still getting paid till 10pm inc the o/t. Good for the drivers, but bad for the owners.

 

To correct this the bosses want to change all the 4 day week drivers to 5 dayers with an incentive added in of a 4% pay rise to thank them for being flexible.

 

They have an option too that has been offered by the bosses. They can choose to stay on the 4 day week as stated in their contracts, but they wont receive the 4% pay rise:eek:

 

Also on both choices a yearly crash bonus of £500 is getting a 50% reduction as the drivers aren't crashing anymore...lol

 

The pay rise offered is the first one they have been given in 5 years!

 

The way my friend sees it, he loses out financially both ways as if he chooses to stay put on 4 days he loses a £250 bonus straight off and gets no pay rise yet again!

If he chooses the 5 day, he works an extra day a week for 4% extra pay. Also he incurs higher fuel costs for the extra day travelling, and child care costs are increased. Plus he loses the £250 bonus!

 

Can anyone shed any light on where my friend stands on this?

Are companies allowed to offer a pay rise to those only that agree to the change of contract?

 

If anymore info is needed in order to advise correctly, let me know and I will get it for you.

 

Thanks for looking and I hope somebody can help with this situation:-D

 

cm

[Guest Old_andrew2018]

It appears that they can, all payrises I argue come about after some negotiations, either on a collective or individual basis, unless its an increase in the national minimum wage.

[Sidewinder]

The employer can certainly do exactly this, providing that there is adequate negotiation and notice given. There may already be a clause in the existing contract to allow such a variation.

 

It would seem that your friend is being offered a choice. Either to stay on the existing contract, or to accept a financial alternative in order to change. The alternative could have been redundancy if the employer is suffering financial worries due to a change in the workload, or termination of the contract with the requisite notice period and the offer of a new contract.

 

If the employer offers an alternative contract on new terms in the latter event and this is rejected, then this would significantly affect the case if the employee took the matter to a Tribunal.

[c00kiemonster]

Thanks old andrew2007 and sidewinder for your replies.

 

I will pass on to my friend what has been said.

 

cm