AIBU? Or is my manager wrong?

[Shopgirl19]

I am 18 and work as a p/t sales assistant in a major High St store, when I went to the interview I was offered 8p/h, this was the same wage as my previous role in retail. Around 2 months later I received an email asking me to sign an e-contract which stated I would be paid 7.40p/h. As this was not the same as the original offer I refused to sign the contract and spoke with my Manager. The contract was repeatedly sent to my email address and I never signed it until I received a new one stating the correct pay. My manager spoke to the HR manager and they drew up a letter apologising for the incorrect pay and stated I would be paid 8p/h until I reach 21 and any o/t would be at 7.40 which I agreed to, both myself and my manager signed this.
This is the only document that I have signed.
I was called into the office last week and told HR had had multiple conferences about my pay and it has now been decided that in the next 4 weeks they will be taking it down to 7.40ph. I think the reason there was a confusion at the start was everyone but me in the store is 21+ and they have realised I am 18 and should be on minimum wage.
I have just joined a union but cant seek advice until 4 weeks into membership.
Any advice on where I stand would be appreciated.

You can certainly keep them to the contract, it's a legally binding document. The trouble is that they can equally certainly sack you. I suggest you start looking for an alternative job and, when you have found one, give in your notice. If they want to keep you they may decide to honour your original agreement, but to be honest I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

I was under the impression that employers are not allowed to arbitrarily reduce workers salaries whenever the feel like.

In (very basic) theory you're correct, but in reality before two years there is no way of taking action against such a change. You accept it or you don't have a job.

I can see it's very annoying, if they offered £8/hr at interview. However, £7.40 is actually a good rate because it's well above minimum wage for an 18yo. Do you think you could get £7.40/hr at another retail outlet?

I'd think carefully about what to do. Although you're a hard worker, there are plenty of other young people out there who would be willing to take your place at the correct rate so don't consider yourself irreplaceable. The company has to be fair to other employees who were likely recruited at the lower wage when they were under 21.
Also, if it was the other way, and they'd been accidentally paying you LESS than your contracted rate, you'd want it corrected pdq, regardless of whether you'd signed a contract.

Also, if it was the other way, and they'd been accidentally paying you LESS than your contracted rate, you'd want it corrected pdq, regardless of whether you'd signed a contract.

They have been paying her at exactly her contracted rate, so this point doesn't apply. The problem is that they want to change her contracted rate.

I'd take the £7.40 and stop moaning

You have very few rights atm because you've been there for less than 2 years

You are being paid WAY more than the minimum wage for your age

Suck it up or go work somewhere else where you'll be paid £5.90 an hour

It's not about the 60p per hour, for the employer it's about agreed hourly rates across all their stores. They won't want to risk setting a precedent for a mistake.

I agree that 7.40 is really good at age 18, if you can get that somewhere else I'd change jobs to be rid of the hassle.

If you were my daughter Ithink Id be advising you to stick to your guns. It is a good lesson to learn not to be taken advantage of early on.I'd say they're trying their luck and you only have their word that others are on 7.40.

Yes, they could replace you but most employers find recruiting a hassle and an expense. If they do fire you over this, I think it says a lot about how they are to work for and retailhas aterrible reputation which isn't entirely unfounded
.

You have retail e perience. I doubt another job would be hard to.come by and Id even take 5.90 if they werebetter employer s

Gina2012 - negativity isn’t helping this situation is it? I’m looking for advice not a telling off.
I’ve been completely left by my store manager to deal with this on my own.
Yes I could move jobs as I have lots of experience but why should I? That would look bad on my CV that I’ve only worked somewhere for 7 months. I’m not a hopper.

Thanks for all your replies everyone, I think I might between a rock and a hard place. One of those situations where ‘I know my rights, but I don’t know my rights’

I wouldn't worry about your CV, at age 18 you're not old enough to have built up a reputation for staying in a job a long time, how could you, did you leave school last summer, a new employer won't expect you to have been anywhere else for a long time.

I’ve been working since I was 14, so had a good few jobs.
Getting a job in the city centre is really difficult An day I’m in uni mon-Friday 9-4 most days.
It’s just so frustrating that I’ve got to seek all this advice, find myself a new job, or fight for the money due to a mistake that two senior people have made

I’ve just been on to ACAS and they said that the letter is implied terms so therefore I was working there under an impression that it wasn’t 8 pound and hour and I need to put this all in writing to the HR manager and line manager

The £8 was an implied term of your initial employment, that's not the issue. The issue is that going forward they're going to change that to a lower rate and if you don't accept it you'll be dismissed.

ACAS are as much use as a chocolate teapot.

That’s fine. They’ll just give notice to terminate your contract.

When they put their agreement to £8 per hour in writing, it became an express term of employment, not an implied one.

However, £7.40 is actually a good rate because it's well above minimum wage for an 18yo. Do you think you could get £7.40/hr at another retail outlet?

In the OP she says her previous job was £8. So she's moved to a job where she was offered the same as her previous job, then been asked to take a pay cut.

I have always received 8 pounds in my previous roles and wouldn't have moved to a job that paid less.

Poutysprout- I'm 90% sure they won't dismiss me, and if they do that's fine but I want advice on my rights surrounding the pay, not an outcome as I am fully aware of the possibilities.

If you've been getting 8ph in previous jobs under age 18 are you in London, over 25 in my area barely gets that for retail and probably the same in other places which is maybe why posters are saying they'll dismiss you if you hold out for 8

No, but I do work in a big city.

Gina2012 - negativity isn’t helping this situation is it? I’m looking for advice not a telling off.

Gina2012 The OP may be 18 but she has a lot more class and maturity than you.

Your rights are to accept the new terms or leave. If you continue to work then you'll be deemed to accept the new terms by your actions. If once the new pay rate kicks in you turn up for work but tell them you don't accept the new terms they'll send you home.

It's as simple as that.

When they put their agreement to £8 per hour in writing, it became an express term of employment, not an implied one.

Nope.

I want advice on my rights surrounding the pay, not an outcome as I am fully aware of the possibilities.

You basically don’t have any rights.

Better?

Or, to put it another way, YABU.

Hope this helps poutysprout- en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Act_1998

Better?

Possibly consider commenting on posts that you have knowledge about rather than negativity