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Company has been taken over and they have unilaterally reduced my wages: can they do this?
My company has been taken over by another company and they have started to pay me by their pay scheme even though I have refused to sign the new contract. The new pay scheme means that I am considerably down on my wage each week and they are expecting me to do more work. Are they in breach of my contract from the old firm which I believe has to be honoured for 12 months? They are trying to give me a vehicle on which I will pay tax and which is to be fitted with a tracker!
Regardless whether the company you work for has been taken over - your contract terms and conditions should continue unchanged under the Transfer of Undertakings Regulations (TUPE). As such the reduction in your salary amounts to a fundamental breach of your contract as will be any change in the hours you work and any conditions relating to a company car.
You may wish to resign and claim constructive unfair dismissal but you would first need to follow the grievance procedure. It is possible to do this anyway and, continue under the new contract PROVIDED you have made it quite clear, in writing, that you do not accept the new terms. There is every chance that if your breach of contract claim succeeded at a Tribunal you would recover the difference in salary.
The only way the employer could defend the situation would be where there was a technical, organisational or economical reason for making such changes but a £125 drop in salary per week seems rather excessive.
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