employee rights after contract has been modified

U

Unie

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On the offer of a new job back in March, I was given over 100 share options as part of the package. The number of share options, plus my salary, was printed on the letter of acceptance (have to check if the number of share options is on the actual contract), and I signed the contract in good faith.

3 months into the job, the HR department tells me that this is not the norm, that employees in my role in this company are offered only 50-odd share options. They say that this was a typing mistake on their part, and they have presented me with a new letter of acceptance, requesting my signature and agreement to the new figure of 50-odd shares (thus I am losing over half the number shares I thought I had).

What are my rights here? I am still on a 6-month probationary period, which ends in September, so I am somewhat hesitant to take steps against the company in case it backfires and I lose my position.
 
Tough one - It seems strange that it would have taken so long for them to notice/progress this. I'd have thought that your options would need to have been purchased/setup with a broker very close to your starting date.

Any way you can carefully sound out 1 or 2 colleagues to confirm/deny that HR are being straight with you? Did HR issue you with the original letter/offer before you decided to leave your last job?

I don't think it is unreasonable for you to push the HR guys along the lines that the 100 options were part of the deal on which you made the decision to leave your last job and/or choose this job compared to other jobs which may have been open to you. It may well be down to negotiation - would you be happy with 70 or 80 options?
 
I'd agree with Rainydays cautious approach on this one, because as you say yourself you're still on probation.

However, be that as it may you signed a legal contract that states that you get 100 shares. This is far more their problem than yours. Even if you're willing to accept a lesser amount of shares I'd be reasonably stern about reproaching HR for a mistake like this which directly affects your financial package in the company and at the very least let your manager know that you're not entirely happy with this proposed loss of potential income. Worst case scenario if you raise it as just enough of an issue that you don't come off too strongly for the new guy you might be able to use it as a bargaining chip in your first pay review.

Bottom line: don't roll over and sign the revised contract without making a point about it.
 
..

Notwithstanding your contract, it is perhaps worth bearing in mind that you have vitually no employment rights until you are employed with this company for a period of 12 months.

Your employer's capacity to terminate your employment within this 12 month period might be a consideration. Maybe not.
 
//

"Are you sure about that? "

In this case, yes. The Unfair Dismissals Act does not apply to employees with less than 12 months service.
 
Fair enough. I overlooked the fact that you were referring specifically to termination as opposed to other employment rights issues. Thanks for the info.
 
Glass eye.

I remember leaving a well paid job in the mid 80's to move to a "better" job in a financial institution. At the interview I was told that I would be getting 16.5k per annum. When I got my first months salary I noticed that it worked out at 16k per annum. I rang my new boss and asked him the reason about this, he simply said that 16k was my salary and if I didn't like it I could always go back to my old job. This was the tone of that job for the next 15 years. I never forgot what my new boss said to me and in the end he probably lost out more than I did because I didn't forget. The one regret I have was that I didn't get out of it sooner because every injustice that happened to me always related back to the first in my own mind..
 
Glass eye.

> This was the tone of that job for the next 15 years. I never forgot what my new boss said to me and in the end he probably lost out more than I did because I didn't forget. The one regret I have was that I didn't get out of it sooner because every injustice that happened to me always related back to the first in my own mind..

Why on earth did you stick it out for so long?
 
I'd rather shovel This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language.

I still ask myself that question. I suppose you don't notice when things gradually creep up on you and things become the norm. It's when I look at it from the outside now I realise that it wasn't the norm.
 
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