Can I be forced to change the way I am paid?

[glassescase]

I have been working p/t at the same place for 20 years or so. My salary is calculated as a fraction of a full time teacher's lessons; eg 18/35 of a full time salary. People who have taken part time jobs more recently are now paid differently. Can I be made to adopt the new method of payment, even though I would be worse off?

Is your employer trying to get you to change? As a part timer you should get pro rata the same as a full timer does for the same job, and your other part time colleagues should get that as well.

Your employer technically needs your consent to change any terms and conditions, which means it would be difficult for them to force you to take a paycut. The way pay is dealt with would be much easier to change as long as no loss was to be incurred by the employee.

If they do want to change the way pay is calculated you could accept that with the proviso that they make whatever adjustments are needed to ensure you don't lose out financially.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I have a meeting tomorrow and I think I might be put under pressure to change. If I do I will be about £800 a year worse off. The newer method of calculation would leave me worse off; I don't have to change to be the same as the others?

You can refuse a paycut. In terms of how things are calculated, nothing wrong with changing that, as long as they acknowledge the fact that doing so would leave you worse off and put that right somehow. Difficult to suggest how that would work depending on what the deal is. If they can't/won't make an adjustment/extra payment to ensure you don't lose out financially with the change, then refuse the change altogether.

Thanks again; girding my loins..