Reduction in paid sick leave

[HellonHeels]

Looking for some advice on a change to my employment Ts&Cs.

When I started, my contract stated 8 days paid sick leave. HR sent a message round stating it was being reduced to 5.

Can they do this?

In short, yes. There are legal hoops to jump through but in essence by them telling you and you continuing to work for them, you are accepting it.

Normally to change contract it requires consultation. Was it definitely a contractual entitlement ? If so they should be sending you a new contract

I'd write back and say that you assume it doesn't apply to you as your contract clearly states 8 days.

yes contracts can be changed. I know a lot of companies are redefining their sick leave policy have any other changes been made in conjunction with this?

putting an exact number on the days you can be sick each year seems strange to me and may give people the impression that they are entitled to 5/8 days extra holiday a year.

are you in the UK?

All my roles have had a statement about sick leave. I'm in the UK.

You can walk out and claim constructive dismissal abd breach of contract. It will take around a year to get to employment tribunal and you will get little compensation - particularly if you get another job soon after leaving.
Sorry.

No they cannot make significant changes to terms without going through a consultation process.

Thanks everyone for the comments and advice.