Returning to work 80% hours for 80% wage

[MahMahMahMahCorona]

Management have just announced they are writing to tell us that of the 16 employees, four of us are to return in a couple of weeks four days a week @80% pay.

Is this really what we are going to have to encounter across the country? Docked working hours and wages for the foreseeable? Some of us will be scuppered with childcare issues so will continue to be furloughed, others are vulnerable themselves, or shielding individuals at home.

I'm not sure many will be able to afford to live on 80% hours / 80% wage for very long.

Can anyone help?

The alternative is probably redundancies. There is no proper answer to this.

The alternative is redundancies, if a company isn’t bringing in revenue then it can’t pay staff a full wage.

It’s a shit situation but at least you still have a job. I also know of a lot of people who have been told they have to agree to 80% pay but continue to work their normal hours or face redundancy. I don’t think there’s many people in a perfect situation right now

This will probably happen a lot, better to have a job at 80% than no job.

We are all going to have to adjust .

It’s not ideal but if it means as many people as possible come out the otherwise with a job then it’s the best option surely?

What else do you suggest companies do?

Thanks @AStarSoBright - it's really quite a worrying prospect for so many, nationwide. I imagine that we are not alone in our concern as to how on earth this will be affordable even for the next 2-3 months. Contractually can an employer change the hours / wages like this?

Our firm will be doing this too if it needs to. its not great but as pp said, it's better all round than redundancies. If there's going to be a killer recession I'd rather keep my job paying less.

They can't force you to accept less hours/wages but, as above, the alternative would be redundancy. I am assuming that all the staff are currently furloughed on 80%

I would take 80% over redundancy any day. I think you just have to be grateful you still have a job given the current situation. This whole situation is difficult for a lot of people.

Hi. They can’t unilaterally change your contract. You will need to agree to the change. We’ve just done through the same process in our office 😞

Oh, and we're being asked to sign a letter agreeing that they can reduce our pay or hours within certain amounts, which also outlines how our benefits and holiday pay etc are affected

We've already had to take a pay cut, but for the same hours. They say it's temporary but I don't expect it will be put back up. I also expect there will be redundancies in the next few months.

My DH's company has offered 50% hours/pay. It's voluntary at the moment but he was happy to take up the offer and spend more time with our baby over the summer. The loss of pay isn't fun obviously but we have savings to cover it.

Can they give those people some sort of compensation for loss of hours? Worth asking.

I would grab that with both hands OP. Sorry, I know it's hard. 💐

It's going to get much, ruinously, worse for a frightening number of people.

Yeah this will be the same all over. Our company will definitely have to reduce hours to ensure minimal staff on site at any one time, plus the workload has reduced due to restrictions within our profession. Social distancing wouldn't be possible with normal shift patterns.

They can’t unilaterally change your contract. You will need to agree to the change

Unless there is a line in your contract that says that they can temporarily.

We’ve gone through the same, all employees where I work on 80% hours and pay. It’s difficult, especially if already on part-time hours and pay, but I trust my employer that they wouldn’t be doing unless they had no choice, and the alternative is redundancies so I’m just going to suck it up for a few months.

This is what the August to October changes to furlough will replicate with people going back part time with employers paying part and govt topping up to 80% limited to £2500 as now. It is to get the economy moving again and cash flow going to enable people to be brought back in full time on full pay and hopefully avoid redundancy situations.

Honestly thanks everyone - it's a little relief to realise there are so many others in the same storm. And you're right, 80/80 is far more preferable than 0/0.

Some firms have got people to agree to temporary 20% pay cuts but still work full time hours so your alternative would be more generous.

I am working 100% of my hours (or more) for 80% of my usual pay so your deal sounds good to me! Presumably you know your employer well enough to know whether they are suffering at the moment. In my case, I work for a company where our income went to zero and will remain so for quite some time to come (theatre and other related activities), most people were furloughed as there is genuinely nothing for them to do and those of us still working know that there is no alternative to taking a pay cut as we are going to run out of money to operate long before we can reopen.

Remember you’ll get more than 80% of your nett wage because of the way tax works. Better than job losses for now. ☹️

Short hours is a very normal way of a business dealing with reduced income. DH and I have both had this in the past during recessions, and once when a major client (think Carillion type) went bust and didn’t pay their invoices. It means that staff keep their jobs, and will be available to the company when work picks up. As pp have said, the alternative is redundancy.

Losing 20% of your income is never fun, but I've heard of businesses suggesting a pay cut without reducing hours correspondingly, so it could be worse. Depending on where you are on the various tax thresholds, you may end up a wee bit better off than you think you will. And remember you won't have commuting costs etc - in fact, that's something to negotiate on when people start to go back to the office. DH's circumstances are different now, but in his previous role his season ticket cost a fortune. Having one for four days wouldn't have made sense, but only going into the office once or twice a week would have been a real financial advantage.

Thanks again for all the reassurances - it's really helpful.