Salary related advice much appreciated.

[Coyney]

Hi all,

I work in a small team of 8 within a sector in the railway industry. We are all on a role clarity contract which means we are contracted to work 35 hours for a fixed salary. There is currently a reorganisation process taken place for the whole infrastructure.

We’ve just received letters which states that we will be affected by the reorganisation process and we’re are awaiting confirmation letters with further details. The document states that out level is being made redundant and after a review process these identical jobs are still available at a lower grade within the same company. This document has been sent to the RMT/TSSA unions for consultation. There is also a section that mentions submitting a CV and completing a job preference form for a review panel consisting of HR manager and professional heads from each department. The wages of the team exceed that of the pay band below; after a brief chat with our HR manager she said we could potentially be offered a lower salary than that agreed on commencement of our employment. This could affect some of the team by as much as £18,000+ a year.

· Can an employer lower our wages for carrying out the same role with the same responsibilities?

· If so how much notice would they have to give us?

· I started 5 years ago and my initial salary was within the ranges of the lower band. I have since had good performance related pay rises which have taken me above the upper limit of the lower band; can they ignore my past performance if re-negotiating?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated as the worry is starting to stress a few of us out.

Regards,

Coyney

[Bigredbus]

Has the union representatives issued any information yet?