Taylor Wimpey has asked around 50 directly employed joiners and scaffolders in the North East to sign new contracts on reduced terms, after a routine pay audit found their earnings were nearly 25% higher than those of comparable roles.
The housebuilder said the gap emerged during a regular benchmarking exercise covering its directly employed, or Direct Labour, workforce. It said a small number of roles carried terms and conditions significantly ahead of comparable rates and required review. The extra pay is understood to have come mainly from higher bonuses rather than from basic rates.
Unite warns of industrial action
The Unite union has criticised the move. Regional officer Greg Robson said Taylor Wimpey had serious questions to answer about how it had treated the workers. He said the union would continue to support affected members through the process and would press the company for the information they are entitled to, and that it was examining all avenues to fight the decision, including industrial action.
Company cites benchmarking review
Taylor Wimpey said the review formed part of a regular benchmarking exercise in which its North East business identified a small number of Direct Labour roles whose current terms and conditions were significantly ahead of comparable rates and needed to be reviewed. The company said the consultation process had been concluded fairly and openly, and that it had consulted ACAS.
It said a grievance had now been raised in line with the Construction Joint Industry Council Working Rule Agreement, and that it was committed to engaging fully with employees before a final resolution is reached, with a number of potential outcomes still under consideration. The company added that it was committed to ensuring all employees are treated fairly and consistently across the business and throughout the process.
What remains open
Neither side has said what the final outcome will be. Taylor Wimpey has not indicated whether the reduced terms would be applied to workers who decline to sign, and Unite has not specified what form any industrial action might take. Because a grievance has been raised under the industry agreement, the revised contracts are not yet the final position for the affected workers.
The dispute turns on how a large housebuilder benchmarks pay for directly employed trades against comparable roles, and on how far earnings driven by bonuses should be treated as out of line with the market. For the roughly 50 joiners and scaffolders involved, the immediate question is whether they accept the new terms or pursue the grievance route.