My question involves making changes to the pay frequency of certain employees. We currently have a mixture of weekly, fortnightly and monthly paid staff and due to staff shortages in our Finance Dept are currently proposing to move the fortnightly paid staff to the monthly payroll. Do we need to get agreement of all the staff or is it enough simply to inform them of our intention to make the change? Can staff resist the change being made?

The answer to this depends on whether the proposed pay frequency change is a contractual or a non-contractual change.

Although I would need to see the contract to be sure, my view is that changing the date on which payment is made will be a contractual change (either because there will be an express term in the employees’ contracts or an implied term (for instance, by reason of custom and practice) that payment is made fortnightly).

If the payment arrangement is contractual, your next step is to work out whether the contractual change is authorised by the contract, for instance, by way of a specific flexibility clause or general flexibility clause in the employee’s contract of employment,