# 10% pay cut



## joaxerboy (1 Apr 2009)

hi recently my employer announced to us that we have to take a 10% pay cut from our salary, after saying this to a few friends, they think its illegal to do this,does anyone have any more information on this or where to get information on this. thank you


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## MichaelBurke (1 Apr 2009)

On the news tonight they said in a survey that 30% of companies questioned were having pay cuts! Think this should answer your question.


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## dinjoecurry (1 Apr 2009)

Wheather its legal or not in the strict sense of the law is probably not that important in one way What is relavent is what would happen if you refused to take the paycut would you still have a job or company to work for When we read in the papers everyone will have to ""share in the pain" that means you and me as well
If the cut is really necessary for your employment to continue my advice is take the cut and keep your fingers crossed that it will be the last one


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## tweety07 (1 Apr 2009)

Try being cut by double that.......trust me I would have taken 10% and not said a word


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## RMCF (1 Apr 2009)

I also had a 10% pay cut recently and was more than happy to take it, as redundancies were rumoured.

We have also been told that there is probably no profit share for the next 2 years at least. Again, I couldn't care as long as I have my job in 2 years time.

Just be thankful you aren't joining the live register. That's a whole lot more than a 10% pay cut.


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## susan12 (1 Apr 2009)

Hold on a second here - legally an employer can not change the terms and conditions of your employment as outlined in your contract of employment without you agreeing.  The key here is that you must agree to a reduction in pay otherwise it is an illegal deduction which  is a breach of contract.  Most businesses seeking a pay cut will outline in detail the reasons why such a cut is necessary including providing detailed financial information.  Clearly most employees would take a cut rather than risk their jobs however there is a climate of 'opportunism' out there amongst some employers who see this as a way to reduce their cost base. 

I would suggest a reasonable approach.  Ask for details of why this is being sought including some financials.  Ask what other strategies are being adopted to cut costs and what other strategies are being pursued.  If you agree to a cut you can always negotiate that this is time bound, i.e. for a year and that after a year it will be reviewed.

Be reasonable but be realistic. 

Susan


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## shipibo (1 Apr 2009)

Employer can only cut pay with your consent.


lots of threads, have a search


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## overboard (11 Apr 2009)

With pension and health levies along with a host of other deductions, I would be happy enough with a 10% cut in these days.


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## Caveat (11 Apr 2009)

I don't understand this 'legal' approach - the employer probably has good reason.  

If you fight it, what's stopping them from saying "OK we'll have to let you go then as we cannot afford to pay you"

_Joaxerboy_, do you generally trust your employer and have they been fair to you up to this point?


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## smree (11 Apr 2009)

I recently took a 10% pay cut. The reason I agreed to this is because i know the company I work for are struggling and it was either pay cuts or staff being let go. I'd prefer to take a pay cut then people be let go.

If the company you're working for is struggling at the moment then I think you should be willing to take the pay cut but if you know that the company you work for is making a healthy profit and is using the recession to get employees to take cuts then you need to have a serious conversation with your employer.


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## stevo (12 Apr 2009)

A lot of information here:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/c...ment/being-asked-to-reduce-your-hours-of-work

HTH!


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## rmelly (12 Apr 2009)

Caveat said:


> _Joaxerboy_, do you generally trust your employer and have they been fair to you up to this point?


 
I'm in a similar situation - we have had 2 rounds of redundancies, after the first the CEO held a meeting with all employees and promised that employees would be consulted on any future actions, and that none were envisaged...low and behold 2 weeks later, more redundancies and a pay cut that wasn't officially announced until 2 days later.

One of my colleagues heard we were going to get a paycut, from someone in another company who shared a house with someone else in my company who had been told.

When we did hear they trotted out the exact same excuses, but nothing to say how things had changed in the last 2 weeks.

On top of this, they are spending over €1 million on a training program for a select group of management, twice the amount they need to cut to break even.

So in a word, no, I no longer trust my employer. I've taken a pay cut to fund their career development.


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## Ancutza (12 Apr 2009)

Perhaps they need to train the management to 'up-skill' them to survive.  Not every policy change in management behaviour is underhand or an attempt to screw someone over.  Granted it's often a very hard to sell on the shop floor.

Recently we've let 80% of our workforce go due to the ending of a contract.  In order to survive we have to reorient the business and get into a sector which previously we didn't operate in.  The cost to the company is around 3k for the software necessary and training.  Small beans indeed to ensure continuing employment for the remaining staff.


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## Deiseblue (13 Apr 2009)

Have you a union that you can refer the matter to ?


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