Advice on promotion red flags

[Glitchbanana]

Posting on behalf of a friend who isn't on Mumsnet but NC as sharing with her.

My friend works for a legal firm and has received an email offering her a promotion. The promotion is stated as effective from her return from upcoming planned sick leave, but the email doesn’t say what happens if she doesn't want the promotion or whether she can decline it.

They’re offering six weeks full sick pay as a “one‑off goodwill gesture” for her upcoming planned absence. They also say her pay rate will only increase if she increases her contracted hours, claiming that a pay rise would only be possible if her hours change because that would trigger a contract variation. But the promotion itself, plus the new annual leave entitlement and bonus scheme, would also trigger a contract change — so this reasoning doesn’t really stack up.

If she stays on her current hours, she gets the promotion title and responsibility but no pay rise. If she increases hours, she'll get a bonus, but will need to repay it in full if she later reduces her hours.

She feels pressured because the email is vague about whether the promotion is optional, what happens if she declines it, and whether her current role is still secure. She’s also concerned about the bonus clawback, the sick‑pay wording, and the questionable explanation about contract changes.

Questions:
Can an employer offer a promotion without explaining what happens if you decline it?
Is a promotion optional, or can they pressure you into accepting it?
Is it normal for a promotion to come with no pay rise unless you increase hours?
Is their explanation (“we can only increase pay if hours change because that triggers a contract variation”) actually valid?
Could this be indirect discrimination if childcare prevents her increasing hours?
Is a bonus clawback enforceable if she later reduces hours?
Is it appropriate for a legal firm to use discretionary sick pay as leverage?
Should she ask for written confirmation that declining the promotion won’t affect her current job?
Would ACAS or a solicitor advise pushing back on the lack of clarity?

She's back in on Monday, any advice welcome to prepare for then. Thanks.

My advice would be to ask around her contacts in other law firms and find someone who's shit hot on employment law.

This sounds like a poisoned chalice, not a promotion.

I think she should just say no thanks, sounds like a trap. They cannot get rid of her current job without good reason.

Thanks both! Does the fact she's been there under 2 years make any difference?

It depends why she is on the sick

Planned necessary orthopaedic operation, nothing underhand or long term, which was booked about 6m ago! This has come about BC of personnel changes in their office - the timing is coincidental.

Can an employer offer a promotion without explaining what happens if you decline it?

Yes. In the absence of any other information, the assumption would be that she will remain in her current role on her current terms if she rejects the promotion.

Is a promotion optional, or can they pressure you into accepting it?

A promotion is a change of her employment contract which therefore requires her consent. They can make life difficult for her if she refuses, but they cannot force her to accept the promotion.

Is it normal for a promotion to come with no pay rise unless you increase hours?

No, but that isn't to say it never happens. Some promotions actually come with a pay reduction, for example when the employee is moving from a low level job with variable hours which can include lots of overtime to a management role where paid overtime is rare.

Is their explanation (“we can only increase pay if hours change because that triggers a contract variation”) actually valid?

No. They can agree a contract variation with her at any time for any reason.

Could this be indirect discrimination if childcare prevents her increasing hours?

I don't think there is enough information here to say. She would need to consult a lawyer who specialises in employment law if she was considering going down this route.

Is a bonus clawback enforceable if she later reduces hours?

It depends. The bonus arrangement would have to include provision for a clawback from the outset and your friend would have to agree to that.

Is it appropriate for a legal firm to use discretionary sick pay as leverage?

I don't think there is enough information in your post to answer that question.

Should she ask for written confirmation that declining the promotion won’t affect her current job?

It wouldn't do any harm.

Does the fact she's been there under 2 years make any difference?

Unfortunately, it does. It means she does not have any protection against unfair dismissal unless her dismissal is unlawful discrimination or she is sacked for a reason that is classed as automatically unfair such as exercising her statutory rights.

Having said all that, I agree with the other posters that, on the information you have posted and assuming your friend has understood the email correctly, this doesn't sound like a good employer.