There 13 yrs - temp secondment role help

[BackToBasics1808]

Hi
So ive been employed for 13 years with my employer - grown through different departments over the years but been in this last dept for 5 years plus
Was put on a seconded temp contract July 2024 to cover another area - 3 month contract extended 4 times taking it to a year - no end date was ever agreed
In September 2024 i received a wage increase due to the extra workload- was not specified as linked to new role
Was told end June 2025 temporary contract would not be renewed due to restructure - happy with performance all ok in that area and continued to help until I 'left' and then some
Today received confirmation that temporary contract is not continuing but they have reduced my wage by over £6K per year - can they do this??

I agree if wage increase was due to new role but if based on 'normal' role can this happen??

The wage rise in September did not stipulate it was due to the role??

Hi, it does sound like the wage increase was related to the secondment so yes it would revert back to your original wage band when you return to your normal role . That is what happens in my company . You could always double check with HR.

They may have left themselves open here. I’ll assume you didn’t have any conversations with managers regarding salary changes.

The wording on any letter/documentation issued to you regarding the salary change and secondment will be particularly important. Look for any wording:

• on written documentation issued to you about the salary change stating the salary increase only applied to the secondment role; and
• any wording on documentation along the lines of if your secondment ends you would revert to your original/previous/substantive role and its associated salary/terms and conditions.

If you can’t see any wording along those lines, you could argue they’re unilaterally changing your salary without your agreement. The employer could be in the realm of unlawful deductions from wages/breach of contract if it hasn’t got firm evidence that you had agreed or the terms were the salary increase only applied while you were doing the secondment role and once the secondment ended your salary would decrease/revert to the salary for your previous job.

To preserve your options it would be best if you inform your employer immediately that you do not accept any changes to your salary and regard it as a breach of contract/unlawful deductions from wages if they are paying you £6k a year less.