wage rises

Helen Abbott
Member - 31 posts

Hello David,

With regard to your question concerning wage rises linked to performance, you should ensure that your annual appraisal system measures performance as objectively as possible. It should identify and document which aspects of performance are poor and make suggestions for improvement. In addition, it should provide evidence and examples of when the poor performance occurred and what steps (if any) have been taken.

You may refuse a pay increase in the light of poor performance. However, you could be on dangerous ground if you make a salary reduction as this could result in a claim for unlawful deduction from wages, for which no minimum length of service is needed. Perhaps the safest route would be to freeze salary at the current level until there has been a satisfactory improvement in performance levels.

Unless your pay increases are contractual, there is no right to an annual pay increase. Therefore, it would seem unlikely that an employee could claim constructive dismissal on these grounds. However, it would be good practice offer an explanation to your employee as to why s/he will not receive a pay increase, to outline what they need to do to improve their performance, to take action in meeting any training or development needs, to make any necessary adjustments to their job, to set achievable and realistic targets, to review progress on a regular basis and to ensure that progress is documented.

Finally, it would be worthwhile considering the cause of the poor performance. Could it be linked to a disability or is the job simply beyond the capabilities of the post holder? This could be a determining factor in how you handle the situation, particularly if performance fails to improve and you are considering termination of employment.

I hope that you find this helpful.

For further practical advice tailored to this situation, Workplace Law can offer Human Resources Consultancy services at a reasonable cost. Please contact me for further details.

Helen Abbott Chartered MCIPD

HR Consultant

Workplace Law Group

Tel 0870 7778881

Anonymous

Providing that you incorporate the necessary term into the contract of employment, should performance become so seriously sub-standard that disciplinary action can be taken, demotion could then be a disciplinary decision. It is essential that this is incorporated into disciplinary procedures as a possible outcome of disciplinary action and should only be used in line with Comapny disciplinary procedures.

Anonymous

I was wondering why 12 months were allowed to go by before there was any attempt to manage the problem?

Other than that I reckon Helen has got it about right?