Can my employer change my job specification and contract of employment without my consent?
If they think they can get away with it, employers will try it on. Unions stop the worst excesses and are a great help, if they’re available to you. Take redundancy for example: I was recently made redundant. A couple of sales people had it earlier in the year. At the time they were going through the hoops, I said “If they’ve decided to ditch someone, then the only thing worth arguing over is how much money they’ll be putting in the redundancy package”. Because otherwise they’ll just bide their time and get rid of you on some trumped-up charge. I hear tell that places like France have much better statutory protection for employees, but not in good old Blighty. The US is apparently even worse. So, you decide: Do you still want to work for the company? If so, then negotiate in a calm voice. If not, then accept the change, brush-up your CV and find another job – but don’t ditch your current one yet – keep smiling and shrug your shoulders when people ask awkward questions.
