Pay Cuts in Private Sector

T

TheBlock

Registered User
Messages
271
Don't think there is the facility for a poll on this site but with all the talk of pay cuts in the private sector I would be interested to know if this is actually happening. Having spoken to Family and Friends I have yet to hear of any having to or even being asked to take a cut in salary. In fact some of the people I spoke to including my Wife have actually had increases since January.

Just wondering if the Pay Cuts in the Private Sector are as widespread as belived.
 
Not yet, salary freeze in effect though plus big focus on all spending. Salary increases would usually happen yearly around this time.
 
I think so - I have taken a 5% pay cut plus a 50% reduction in bonus, plus I am paying for my own education & training this year, paid for by the company in previous years.

My hubby has to take a 25% cut (eek) but it is really a 37.5% cut when the fact that his bonus was also axed is taken into account.

Also in the company I work for, there has been pay cuts across the board from top to bottom.
 
TheBlock said:
Don't think there is the facility for a poll on this site but with all the talk of pay cuts in the private sector I would be interested to know if this is actually happening. Having spoken to Family and Friends I have yet to hear of any having to or even being asked to take a cut in salary. In fact some of the people I spoke to including my Wife have actually had increases since January.

Just wondering if the Pay Cuts in the Private Sector are as widespread as belived.
Click to expand...

From my hazy memory of secondary school economics doesn't income correspond with GDP? If so we'd expect total incomes in 2009 to be 6% lower than 2008.

Either way the workforce has shrunk by about 300,000 and the live register increased by 200,000 (presume 100,000 have emigrated) over the year. If over 15% of the employed population losing their jobs isn't widespread enough for you, I don't know what to tell you
 
Pay freeze in place at the minute, however staff are now being asked to take a 2.5% cut, junior management a 5% cut and executives/senior management cuts ranging from 5% up to 20% for the CEO
 
50k salary to 10k JS

80% cut

If you look at companies and they havent cut pay, check out how many they have let go, it all adds up to a cut in the overall payroll.

TheBlock said:
Just wondering if the Pay Cuts in the Private Sector are as widespread as belived.
Click to expand...

i just read this line again. What do think 38000 job losses in one month are....christ
 
Last edited:
I have to say, this is a pretty shocking topic.
The figures are there (the dole queue) to show that pay cuts have been rife across the board......never mind the actual cuts given to whatever staff are left.
 
with all the talk of pay cuts in the private sector I would be interested to know if this is actually happening
Click to expand...

Lots of 100% pay cuts.

Just wondering if the Pay Cuts in the Private Sector are as widespread as belived.
Click to expand...

Belief doesn't come into it. Here are the facts:

[broken link removed]

[broken link removed]

[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]
 
I work in a factory where the day staff had a 10% pay cut.

The shift workers have had to take 10% unpaid leave each month. Not allowed to use holidays for this - so its basically a 10% pay cut too.

Also been more or less confirmed that all focal increases are on hold, and profit sharing can be forgottena about for at least 1 year, maybe more.

But I'm still happy to have a job. If they tried to hit me with another 10% cut, I'd take it too.
 
Apologies to those I seem to have offended. I'm not doubting that people are being let go and so getting a 100% pay cut so to speak. I was just wondering about people being asked to take salary cuts as its not something I had come across either through family of friends. Simply query people don't be so shocked.
 
i dont understand why you're trying to figure out. If a company lets 40% of people go, and the remaining 60% dont take a pay cut what do you take from that?
 
I was a student in the 80s and at the time the average Joe PAYE worker payed through the nose (public & private). Then we had all the revelations about money moving off shore (hidden from the tax man) such as single premium insurance policies with false addresses, secret bank accounts for the privileged few and so on. I'm just wondering is history going to repeat itself?

Also what I'd like to see is the likes of doctors and dentists cut their fees by 10% or so.
 
Small technical manufacturing company of 8 staff, Irish owned. The type the government is always bleating on about 'supporting'.

2 let go
1 on 3 day week
5 left on 10% pay cut .. so far.

All 5 now working 40% harder for 10% less and feel lucky not to be one of the ones let go. Funnily enough, we have orders but just find it very hard to compete and keep paying the bills (previously a moderately profitable company ran pretty tightly). There is currently a race to the bottom in our market where desperate companies in UK and Ireland and further afield are cutting prices to crazy levels to secure business. Our only hope is that we manage to outlast some of the rest but there are not huge reserves to draw on. The directors' homes etc are all part of personal guarantees used to give the credit. There are no 'fat cats' here.

On a personal level, my OH hasn't worked since before Christmas and was self-employed and can get basically diddly squat. It could be worse for us. We didn't use credit cards, have an old serviceable car, bust a gut to get our mortgage down to a manageable level and don't have any other credit as we always saved for everything. Some people call this 'luck' but I prefer to think of it as not getting caught up in the hype.

This is not a call for sympathy either, the OP wanted some 'evidence'.

My teaching sister, for instance, spent a good while last night telling me how she'd taken a pay cut too - turned out to be an adjustment due to a switch from bi-monthly to fortnightly pay. So maybe it's over-sensitivity but I feel there are an awful lot of people (my sister and friends) still in some kind of parallel universe. Good luck to them but I wish they'd shut up about it.
 
How many of the posters here took part in the march last Sat ?
Did ye all gang together to protest against wage freezes/cuts/job losses ? Are you all planning to be on strike to somehow change things ?

No. Too busy trying to make a living in the private sector where the winds of recession blow a lot colder ....
 
MissRibena said:
My teaching sister, for instance, spent a good while last night telling me how she'd taken a pay cut too - turned out to be an adjustment due to a switch from bi-monthly to fortnightly pay.
Click to expand...
Here's hoping it's not Maths and/or Economics she's teaching.
 
LOL - no. She's arty-farty :) But it's more a case of jumping on a bandwagon, I think. Although It's not really fair of me to single her out; there is a bit of a cool-to-be-broke thing in some circles too.
 
My sisters's employer imposed a 10% pay cut on everyone. Company is very profitable and is in a sector that hasnt yet been hit by the downturn. Looks like this is a case of an employer taking advantage of the downturn to increase profits.

A friend of mine who works in the HQ offices of a major construction company is down to a 3 day week.
 
I lost my job in November - got a new one in January but had to effectively take a 50% pay and benefits cut. I am currently paying nothing into my pension, I have no death in service benefit, no income protection, no bonus or any other perks - I consider myself lucky to have the job! - I work in financial services.

My neighbour lost his job last June - he worked in motor industry. He has not worked since.

Another neighbour lost his job as a surveyor in December - he has not worked since.

Another neighbour lost his job as a semi state contractor in August as did his partner in a professional services firm in December - neither have worked since.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top