Reduce my pay because of working from home?

[Psm92]

Long story short, a few months ago I was diagnosed with a disability that causes a lot of fatigue, pain, etc. As such I have been wfh for the past few months. Other colleagues work from home 3 days a week, and attend the office twice a week. As my wfh is due to a health condition/disability, I would have thought this is a reasonable adjustment to enable me to let me do my job. I live in London.

My workplace is now saying they will have to reduce my salary because as my "principal workplace" is now the office, I do not qualify for the London weighting. Feeling really upset by this. Any advice?

*As my principal workplace is now my home (not the office)

Contact ACAS. They should have the expertise to advise you. Dig out your contract first and check all Ts & Cs.

If you're no longer qualifying for the allowance then seems fair. Would they let you keep it on a mark time basis until your salary catches up?

Thank you. I will do. The "contractual home working" part of the Staff handbook/policy seems to support that they can cut my pay, as it talks about "principal workplaces". But I do not want to change my contract - I just need to continue working from home as a disability-based reasonable adjustment.

@BigFatLiar What is mark time?

I did read an article about this a while ago. But I dont think it has been challenged yet AFAIK. If you are in a Union you could seek their advice. I think the trouble is once they let one person wfh permanently then other people will expect that too. Its a difficult one.

Everybody else already works from home 3 days a week and attends the office twice a week. I have a medical exemption.

Have work reference you to occupational health? They need to do this so you get reasonable adjustments in place. Also contact ACAS.

No idea on the legalities but I was always under the impression that London weighting was on part for commuting costs, which you'll no longer have?

There are parts of London where housing is still cheaper than expensive parts og other cities.

If this is a permanent change then your contract will change as your principal workplace will change. If you refuse, then your original contract stands which means working from the office.

Are they wanting to cut your pay by more than your travel costs?

I would assume that if you get LW but do not often go to London they may have a case but I suggest speak to a lawyer

I live in london though

is this permanent, as in from now on you will be home based, or is it for a set time period then you’ll return to the office? If it’s permanent then you’re place of working will likely have to change in your contract for H&S and insurance reasons and home will be your base place of work. The London weighting sounds like an allowance added on and so you wouldn’t get it if you aren’t based in a London office, effectively you could live anywhere in the country.

If your salary was 27k and the allowance was 3k then you continue to be paid 30k until your salary reaches that level. So basically no pay rise until it passes your current salary + allowance.

The point is you don’t have to live in London as you will have no requirement to regularly go into the office, your base will be home.

They are on sticky ground, OP.

London Weighting is designed to support the additional costs of living in or close to London, not just commuting costs.

They also cannot change the terms of your contract without consultation.

Further dodgy ground as you are working from home as a result of a reasonable adjustment, which may or may not be long term,

Article here:

www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1752940/employers-remove-location-based-pay-agile-working

Take advice, OP. It doesn't seem reasonable to remove this from you without proper review.

When you say 'London weighting' is this what you mean, or is it a London allowance?

In that London weighting is for certain categories of public sector employees designated as key workers. If you fit this category, then I agree it shouldn't be possible to discontinue it.

If it's a private company with a policy of providing an allowance, it really depends on your contract as PPs have said, and the T&C of the allowance (ie if it was intended to defray travel costs in which case it is reasonable; but if it was a cost of living allowance less so?)

That's not how it works unless Occupational Heath has said this is necessary.

We have a London allowance and have been told if we don't come to the office for an average a day a week, we would lose it. Those who are permanent home workers (regardless of where they live) don't qualify.

I don't know about the specifics of reasonable adjustment, but it doesn't strike as particularly unreasonable.

@EarringsandLipstick It's a London weighting - I'm a civil servant

@EarringsandLipstick They have

If the rules are the same for everyone, then it's fair and legal.
If someone wfh full time doesn't qualify for a London weighting, then its true for anyone who wfh full time.
You need to wfh full time as a medical exemption, but the reason doesn't matter. You can't be treated any worse than anyone else because of a disability/medical need, but that doesn't mean you should be treated any better than anyone else for the same reason.

Ah, well then, I would agree that it seems wrong that this would be taken away from you, however, your HR should be able to properly advise - it will be v clear-cut
(I'm no expert tho!)

Yes, that makes sense - so it definitely depends on how the payment is allocated.

Within the public sector these matters are very cut & dried.