at my local filling station to a young lady who has worked there for a number of years.She was recently made up to manager , but today was told by the owner that her hours will be cut as of tomorrow from 40 to 26 per week.
The manager said it was because of the increase in the min wage ---- can he just do this?
Does she have 40 hours per week specified in her contract? She should be given notice of the change- the same notice as for terminating her contract. It will be at leats a week's notice.
There was a case reported in the press recently where a teenager was laid off because she moved up to the next minimum wage bracket on her birthday and the manager didn't want the extra wages. She took action against them for age discrimination and won.
The owner could also say the manager's job was disappearing and she would have to re-apply for the new post being created. A day centre near me has just done that with all their staff. A few were made redundant but the rest are being re-employed - on lower pay for much the same job!
Buildersmate, sorry you are wrong - age is now one of the protected characteristics and the girl was awarded damages because of being discriminated against on the grounds of her age. The case I was talking about was in Northern Ireland, just found it http://www.bbc.co.uk/...hern-ireland-14898317