O/T Payroll / wage advice

I just wondered if the hive mind that is the BBS could help me. A couple of years ago I was tupe'd from one firm to another and after a prolonged period of time was relieved to be told that I'd still got a job and not let go. We were given the contracts that we all signed without reading and there's been no issues until now. It appears that the overtime rate we signed on the initial contract was a flat rate of £10 per hour, no time and a half or special rate for bank holidays as such. I was just wondering if this flat rate should have increased at the same rate as any other pay rises we've received. Any ideas?

 

Are you in a TU? If so go to them for advice. If not join one. You can then access proper free legal advice.

 

I left my position of Payroll Manager late in 2003, but I'll try my best. The employees of ours who were moved on under that agreement had their wages (including overtime and bank holiday premiums, sick pay, holidays, etc.) guaranteed. The only difference was with the company pension. That was frozen until retirement age and they had to start up personal pensions.

 

If it’s a stated amount then that’s what you get (so long as it’s not below minimum wage). It was a daft thing to sign with no clauses for increases but that’s by the by now. You need to get together with the other workers and decide what you want to ask for going forward. If you’re part of a union then they will do it for you and you’ll have better protection against any hard feelings that may arise from you asking. You could ask alone but I doubt you would get anywhere unless your employers are decent people as they’re not going to increase your pay alone and they’re not going to increase the whole workforce’s based on you asking about it. I’d suggest tying it somehow to your standard hourly rate (so time and a half or hourly rate plus 25% or whatever they’ll agree to). If you don’t, you may end up with overtime being capped at, or even less than, your standard wage.

 

Under Tupe. All terms and conditions ( except pensions ) are protected. And can only be discussed after transfer. Although I'm retired now. We kept everything we had prior to transfer pre 2000. And only negotiated deals to the benefit of the members. Including better holidays.
Even after being brought back in house in 2010.
Reason being. We were strong on the union front with nearly 100% membership.
In fact we did not sign new contracts when we came back in house as there were a couple of anomalies.
And that still stands today 12 yrs later. Still working under the old contract.
To the OP
You should have been informed of any changes as they cannot be made prior to transfer. Why didnt anyone examine those changes. Seems iffy to me.

 

Normally when you tupe from one to another you are transferred on the same terms and conditions.

After that, the new company can do anything so long as you sign a new contract after the initial tupe.

So your contract you are referring to and signed..... Agreeing to the transfer or after tupe?

Granted it's 10 years ago I was in a tupe situation so laws may have well changed etc

 

Thanks for the advice guys!

 

TUPE protects your Ts&Cs but alarm bells ring about signing a new contract post TUPE. I’d definitely join a union if you’re not in one.

 

Evening all! Just as a little update I've been doing a little information gathering as I feel this situation is going to come to a head. By losing the time and a half pay grade I receive a flat rate of a tenner when I could be getting nearly £20. I've been holding off doing any overtime and we both ( manager and me) know why. However, they've asked me outright, via email if I'm refusing to work just this Saturday or ALL Saturdays. I'm going to respond explaining my case and state that I'll be refraining from overtime until I've received legal advice from my union (in the process of rejoining....I used to be a rep ffs!)
I think that I stand a chance as you can't pay someone different rates for performing the same job....We'll see....ah well.

 

You could always refuse to do overtime if they don't at least increase ot in line with your wage. A work to rule if you like.

 

Thanks for the update. Can I just ask, is your normal hourly rate above £10, so they’re actually paying you less for overtime than your standard wage? Also, does your contract mention if overtime is compulsory?

 

Someone will probably correct me here but I don't think that's right. People are paid different rates for doing the same job all the time.

 

Also, there is no right to any overtime pay (other than anything written in the contract) so long as it doesn’t bring the employee’s pay overall below minimum wage. What they are doing is perfectly legal (as £10 is above minimum wage by 50p and is what is stated in the contract). The hope here is that they are nice people and it was a lack of forethought around inflation that listed a set amount, otherwise, they’ve stitched the OP up like a kipper and they fell for it hook, line and sinker.

 

Eyup all. Yes, my hourly rate is above £10 and yes, they are asking me to take a wage drop to do overtime. All the contract says is a reasonable amount is expected but it also says we will be given 4 weeks notice of weekend work.

 

Yep. A certain large company based at Darton have graded all employees and 2 people doing the same job are on different rates. Some as much as 3-4 quid an hour difference

 

God, I hate that ‘reasonable’ catch all. It really does sound like you have to do the overtime for that amount and there’s nothing you can do about it unless they agree to work with your union, or they like your work so much they wouldn’t want to risk losing you. If your contract states 4 weeks’ notice then you can certainly refuse to work the next few (unless they let you know about it weeks ago/it’s a standard thing of every week which would count as notice being given, I think, by precedent) but then all they need to do is give you future dates now and they’re covered again. I wish you luck with your union but you might have to move jobs or just count it as a lesson learned to read a contract before signing it as legally they are in the right (morally is a different story of course). The cynic in me says they knew exactly what they were doing when they changed it to a flat rate and so why would they change it now?

 

Personally I'd tell them to shove it where the sun don't shine and look elsewhere

Hate companies like this

Bet the owners are no where to be seen on a weekend

 

Same. I probably wouldn’t bother kicking up a fuss that will create drama, I’d just find a new job with better pay and conditions, unless I really loved the job/it was super convenient. As OP said at the time they relieved to still have a job after the changeover, I’d view the intervening period of then and now as breathing space time and the safety of a wage whilst job hunting.

 

I guess it’s the same way people signed (now illegal) housing contracts where the ground rent starts off small but doubles every couple of years. It doesn’t sound bad at the time and the future seems distant and therefore the implications aren’t considered.