Last year we were changed from a 37 Hour week to a 40 hour week without an pay adjustment (essentialyl an 8% pay cut).

A letter at Christmas has just instructed the return to a 37 Hour week.
However, also attached was a note to say the we are now subject to a 3 Hour ‘Overtime Threshold’.

Basically, in order to get any paid overtime, you have to work 37 Hours standard + 3 Hours unpaid Overtime!

For the office based staff the is fine, but for the site based staff where 45-50 Hour weeks are standard practice, this essentially means we lose 3 hours pay per week (another 8% pay cut) as working only 37 Hours is not really an option.

The situation certainly is not ethical in my opinion, but my question is, ‘is it legal?’. Is there any employment law that gives a right to be paid for hours worked?

Jon.
Jon