Restructure and wrong salary

[PoliteMauveSwan]

We've been offered jobs as part of a restructure and they've sent out emails with our new jobs, plus salary.

However it's come to light the salary is too high, error.

They've just let out line manager tell us.

Is this legal

Why do you think it’s illegal to make an error?

Is what legal?

Do you mean, do they have to honour the higher salary you thought they were offering? If you haven't signed the contract yet then, no they don't.

We haven't signed any contract and have been doing the new job

Is what legal?

How much out is it? Could you have reasonably assumed that them paying you £20k a year more for the role would be an error on their part or is it a couple of grand?

People reading threads?

It's difficult to know without more detail about the restructure, and whether you were placed into roles with no alternative, or offered roles that you could have turned down. And presumably the actual salary is not less than you were on before, it's not a cut in pay. But if you have already raised this with HR, then you might want to talk to ACAS as the next step to see how to resolve this dispute.

No one has raised it with HR. It's higher salary but not as high as the letter. We've not signed anything or done much other than be told verbally that's when the new team was formed and that's it. We had a letter come through with the revised salary but nothing saying it's revised.

Just weird HR are acting like this

What kind of employer is it (I.e public sector or private) and how long have you been doing the new jobs?

Private. Two months

We've not been told officially anything but the two other people have "come over" to our side of the office.

It's all very weird

So you've had a restructure in which you've been offered a new role at a new salary and, though you haven't actually signed a contract, you've been doing this new role for 2 months?

Have they paid you the new salary yet? And if so, did they pay you at the higher salary they now say is a mistake or at the salary that they now want to offer you?

What alternative were you offered if you didn't want to take the new job?

Would you have wanted to accept the new role at the salary they now want to pay you if that had been the original offer?

Employment law can be tricky. In a restructure you aren't obliged to accept a new role, but if you turn it down without an acceptable reason, you may not be eligible for redundancy. If you're in a union or have access to legal advice through insurance or the like, it would be worth taking advantage of that. Alternatively ACAS may be able to make your rights clear.

(Also, I'm confused by this:
but the two other people have "come over" to our side of the office.
Is this relevant in some way to the restructure and your new salary?)