Petition · Don’t use living wage as excuse to cut pay & benefits · Change.org

Last Updated: April 4, 2016By
[Image: Reuters.]

[Image: Reuters.]

Please sign the petition to stop companies like B&Q from using the so-called ‘National Living Wage’ as an excuse to cut pay and benefits.

I have worked for B&Q for over 5 years, I started in the business working as a part time customer advisor and have worked my way up to a management position. I live and work in a high cost living area of London. The past month has been one of the most difficult for me personally and as a manager.

In early February 2016, after the Government announced that the minimum wage would be increased to a new ‘national living wage’, B&Q ran a consultation of its pay and rewards framework. They proposed the following changes:

  • removal of time and a half pay for working Sundays,
  • restructuring of allowances for working in high cost of living areas of the UK
  • removal of double time for working bank holidays (now proposed to be 1.5)
  • Removal of a summer and winter bonus equating to 6% of annual salary

The full time customer advisors are being hit the hardest. Those who have worked within the business for over a decade and know our customers and our business the best are losing thousands of pounds a year. B&Q are asking people to sign their new terms and conditions of employment or they will be dismissed.

As a manager it has been incredibly difficult conducting consultations with people that are set to lose thousands of pounds and telling them that if they don’t sign by March 24th they will lose their job.

Big businesses like B&Q are using the national living wage as an excuse to cut overall pay and rewards for the people that need it the most. I feel ashamed to work for a business that treats their employees with so little respect. I feel ashamed to work for a business that proposes to pay neighbouring stores two separate rates of pay. I hope that there are others out there that feel the same and support this petition.

I hope that with the support of others, through signing this petition, we can influence B&Q and other businesses to reverse these changes. I also hope they acknowledge that treating people in this way will have a negative impact on their business in the future.

Please sign at: Petition · Don’t use living wage as excuse to cut pay & benefits · Change.org

Join the Vox Political Facebook page.

If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!

Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(
but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:

Donate Button with Credit Cards

Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.

Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:

HWG PrintHWG eBook

The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:

SWAHTprint SWAHTeBook

latest video

news via inbox

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

3 Comments

  1. diet650 April 4, 2016 at 10:23 pm - Reply

    It must be a good time for the company workers to unionise

  2. Terry Davies April 5, 2016 at 5:43 am - Reply

    to be expected if they support the tories by funding them.Do they ???,

  3. mrmarcpc April 5, 2016 at 1:55 pm - Reply

    Signed petition, hope they’re successful.

Leave A Comment