Pay cut at work

[Scaredycat259]

I cant find any information online about this so I'm hoping someone can help.
We have just had our annual pay review letter at work.
I am a team leader which means I am paid an extra £1.66 an hour.
Normal staff are paid at minimum wage which will increase in April to £9.50.
Our Directors have announced that Team leaders wage will remain at the same rate £10.57 an hour, they are effectively removing the 59p per hour living wage rise from our extra £1.66 an hour reducing it to only £1.07 extra an hour.
I think this is totally unfair of them to expect the same responsibilities for less pay yet my staff who report to me will get their raise.
I can find anything online as to whether this is illegal or just morally wrong?

@Scaredycat259

My point is that they are cutting my team leader uplift from £.166 to £1.07, my staff in non team leader roles will get a 59p rise. This has happened before at this company a few years back for 3 years in a row. Ifthistrend continues we will be back in the same position. This is affecting 4 team leaders and 2 supervisors. There was never any contract stating the uplift. Normal staff currently get a 25p uplift that was initially a £10 a week attendance bonus. They will no longer get that, so they're living wage rise will effectively work out at 34p and hour. To say the mood is low in the factory and warehouse today would be a vast understatement.

I get your point and why you're annoyed but they haven't done anything illegal.
You haven't got a pay cut, you just haven't gotten a pay rise, it means that there's less of a gap between you and other staff but it still isn't a cut as you're not walking away with anything less at the end of the month.

The company didn't have a choice but to give the other staff a wage rise as they legally can't pay less than minimum wage.
They can legally not give others who are already over a minimum wage a rise and so that's what they've done.

Morally it's a shitty thing to do but there isn't anything you can do about it unless you're willing to leave your job

Cross posted - it definitely sounds like while you're off on Maternity you would be best having a look at your options and what other jobs there are available if you wanted to go back to work after.

Just keep in mind that if you get any enhanced maternity pay from your work to check your contract as they can ask for that back if you don't return after Mat leave. Although from the sounds of it I'm thinking maybe your work don't offer that anyway!

That's why there are several team leader vacancies where I work. Team leaders get £1 more per hour than we do. When the minimum wage goes up they will be on 50p more.
The company can't seen to understand why the vacancies are there.
It's not illegal though. You have a choice, step down or go somewhere where you actually get paid properly for the extra responsibility.

What they are doing is totally legal. Minimum wage is going up, so legally they have to raise the wages of people on that rate. There is no legal obligation to protect the differential between managers and workers. It's situations like this where being part of a union is really helpful because you use your collective power to push for a better deal. I assume your workplace is not unionised, but if I were you I would be looking into getting that started. I my opinion everyone should be part of a union.

Look at comparative roles in your sector and area, see what wage they are offering. If its more go to management and ask them to consider a pay rise. Have you or anyone approached management about it?

Theyve probably had a blanket ban of wages increases, but are following the law in bringing up the lower paid staff. I think your choices are either:

• Drop down to a lower band, if you wages aren't worth the extra work and stress.
• Petition for a wage increase, taking into account management wages.
• look elsewhere.

The employer is reducing the difference between your (manager) pay and team members’ pay. You perceive this to be unfair, as might others in your role and who might consider applying. Understandable!

What they’ve done is in line with employment law.

Well it’s not great.

Options seem to be - (1) do nothing (2) try to influence managers who can get you a pay rise or (3) get a new job.

Or was this a sympathy rather than solutions kinda post? Which is also totally allowed, but AIBU is a trick place to seek that.

It was an advice post as I couldn't find anything online as i stated in my op, certainly not a sympathy post.
It's just a shitty away to treat people when the step daughter and nephew are working in the factory until they "find " them a job in the offices.

OP I do sympathise. Good luck with your maternity leave (and congrats as well).
This also reminds me that my partner is on £9.50 an hour currently and his wage won't be going up so he will be on the new minimum wage. When he started it was considered a good pay over and above the standard... it was meant to be an incentive working as agency and not having guaranteed hours etc. He will be looking for work elsewhere now I'm sure.

Of course the companies can afford to pay more (with the exception of small companies which I understand will be hit hard by rising prices), they just don't want to and they know they don't have to because the law is on their side.

However if everyone got a pay rise in line with minimum wage it would have a massive impact on inflation and would affect us all so much worse I think.
It is shit all round.

It’s shit. But I’m reading this and feeling short changed… I’m a team leader in a supermarket and get 20p an hour more than my team 😭😭 only real benefit is more guaranteed hours a week.