William Hill manager ‘unfairly dismissed’ for refusing pay cut

A betting shop manager has won her unfair dismissal claim after she was sacked for refusing to accept a new contract on a lower pay grade.

Nicola Dinham had worked as a manager for William Hill for 18 years.

The company restructured its employment model, merging the roles of shop manager and deputy manager into one new position.

The new contract offered to Miss Dinham meant her annual salary would have fallen from £25,549 to £20,721.

She would also have lost the benefits of double pay on bank holidays and time-and-a-half pay on Sundays, and been required to work five days between Monday and Sunday, as opposed to five days between Monday and Saturday.

William Hill offered Miss Dinham a £4,828 supplement on her wages for her first year in the new role.

She refused to sign the new contract, despite several meetings with her managers in which she was warned that it could result in her being dismissed.

Miss Dinham received a letter from William Hill terminating her employment, although she was invited to re-apply under the new terms.

She took the case to an Employment Tribunal, which ruled in her favour.

The judge said William Hill’s actions were “dismissive” and displayed “unreasonable inflexibility… evidenced by its approach to her grievance”.

The level of compensation will be set at a separate hearing

Please contact Robert Bedford if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of employment law.