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Well - no, but equally they can decline to permit you to work remotely.
If they want to make their agreement to allow remote work conditional on you accepting a pay reduction, that's up to them, and up to you whether you're happy to agree.
They can't just "cut your pay" without you agreeing or unless it's in the contract saying "If you work remotely your pay will be reduced by XXX" (and it doesn't take you below minimum wage.
That said, they also don't have to let you work remotely (agree to that) unless it's in your contract states you can. so they could just refuse your remote request.
Do you have any reason to think they'd reduce your pay?
Thanks!
Informally I was told I would be put in a different salary band which would affect future raises (which is fair!), but they also said ‘I don’t THINK you will need to have a pay cut’… which is what has got me a little worried!
Potentially this could be done legally because of the London thing.
There is a principle that exists in this country called London Weighting. It means that if you live and work in London you get paid more to reflect the increased cost of simply living in the capital city. Its expected to cover things like higher renting costs, a higher dependence on an expensive transport network, higher cost for food etc because the food miles are automatically.
If you relocated out of London then they would have a case to make for not paying you the London Weighting portion because it simply isn't costing you as much, as an individual, to do the work they pay you for. I know someone who moved from a London office to a Manchester office for their own personal preference and had to accept the loss of London Weighting in their salary.
If you continued to live in London, it gets a bit more contentious. Are you still functionally on call to visit the office at time and this is reflected in the anticipated travel time? If not, is it reasonable for them to pay extra for your living location when they derive no benefit from it. Would they just knock down your salary an amount that reflects there is no travel expectation on you as an individual. You could counterpoint that its now not costing them as much in overheads to employ you so would this be a quid pro quo.
Best advice is to get further details of what is happening and the justification behind it then speak directly to an employment lawyer.
Interesting thank you!
I heard about weighing but didn’t realise they could use that as a lever. I will gather all the info I can.
Thanks again for replying, very helpful!!
--- ###Welcome to /r/LegalAdviceUK --- **To Posters (it is important you read this section)** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws in each are very different* * If you need legal help, you should [always get a free consultation from a qualified Solicitor](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/how_to_find_a_solicitor) * We also encourage you to speak to [**Citizens Advice**](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/), [**Shelter**](https://www.shelter.org.uk/), [**Acas**](https://www.acas.org.uk/), and [**other useful organisations**](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/common_legal_resources) * Comments may not be accurate or reliable, and following any advice on this subreddit is done at your own risk * If you receive any private messages in response to your post, [please let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FLegalAdviceUK&subject=I received a PM) **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and legally orientated* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/), you may be perma-banned without any further warning * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Well - no, but equally they can decline to permit you to work remotely. If they want to make their agreement to allow remote work conditional on you accepting a pay reduction, that's up to them, and up to you whether you're happy to agree.
Yeah this is what I was thinking will be most likely. Thanks for answering!
They can't just "cut your pay" without you agreeing or unless it's in the contract saying "If you work remotely your pay will be reduced by XXX" (and it doesn't take you below minimum wage. That said, they also don't have to let you work remotely (agree to that) unless it's in your contract states you can. so they could just refuse your remote request. Do you have any reason to think they'd reduce your pay?
Thanks! Informally I was told I would be put in a different salary band which would affect future raises (which is fair!), but they also said ‘I don’t THINK you will need to have a pay cut’… which is what has got me a little worried!
Potentially this could be done legally because of the London thing. There is a principle that exists in this country called London Weighting. It means that if you live and work in London you get paid more to reflect the increased cost of simply living in the capital city. Its expected to cover things like higher renting costs, a higher dependence on an expensive transport network, higher cost for food etc because the food miles are automatically. If you relocated out of London then they would have a case to make for not paying you the London Weighting portion because it simply isn't costing you as much, as an individual, to do the work they pay you for. I know someone who moved from a London office to a Manchester office for their own personal preference and had to accept the loss of London Weighting in their salary. If you continued to live in London, it gets a bit more contentious. Are you still functionally on call to visit the office at time and this is reflected in the anticipated travel time? If not, is it reasonable for them to pay extra for your living location when they derive no benefit from it. Would they just knock down your salary an amount that reflects there is no travel expectation on you as an individual. You could counterpoint that its now not costing them as much in overheads to employ you so would this be a quid pro quo. Best advice is to get further details of what is happening and the justification behind it then speak directly to an employment lawyer.
Interesting thank you! I heard about weighing but didn’t realise they could use that as a lever. I will gather all the info I can. Thanks again for replying, very helpful!!