Can Your Employer Reduce Your Working Hours?

Your employer cannot reduce your working hours and salary, without your consent.

If your employer reduces your hours and pay without your consent, you may be entitled to resign and claim constructive dismissal- and you may be entitled to compensation.

Before resigning, however, you should always get advice so that you can take the proper steps. 

Some of the steps that are required before resigning include:

1. Raise the issue in writing. Tell your employer that your hours and pay were reduced without agreement.

2. Request that your employer fix the issue. Ask to be returned to your regular hours and pay by a specific date.

3. State the consequence. Indicate that if the issue is not resolved by the specific date, you may have no choice but to consider yourself constructively dismissed. 

   
   

You should always seek proper advice before resigning from your job.

Another reason to seek advice early is that if there is a delay in you raising the issue and resigning after the employer made the change, this may be viewed as you having accepted the change and it could act against a constructive dismissal case. 

But if you resign after you raised the issue, gave the warning and your employer failed to correct the situation, this may be deemed an unfair constructive dismissal and you may be entitled to compensation.