Changing contracts of Employment

In the current economic climate employers may decide that reducing employees’ pay or changing their roles may be a preferable course of action to making redundancies. People are often surprised to learn that in some circumstances it is possible for employers to give staff the choice between agreeing to a change in their contract or losing their jobs.

On the other hand a change imposed upon you without your consent could entitle you to claim unfair dismissal so legal advice may be required.

A Tribunal is likely to consider changes that were necessary for the survival of a business as justifiable and therefore fair but will be wary of those which are simply intended to increase profitability at the expense of the employee.

The above information is not intended to be a complete or definitive statement of the law. For more information or advice please contact our Employment Law team.