Cutting staff back to 32 and question

[HOGFAN]

wow, not looking forward to tomorrow. I manage a staff of 20 and have to tell them tomorrow that business is cutting them back to 32hours/week. We had already cut back to 36 a week. It will really impact alot of them, they already blew thru their paid time off due to the cutback. Most are full time, tho we have some parttimers that will go to 20/week. Now, one question I have had to dodge from the fulltimers: Why not layoff the parttimers? Why not preserve the fulltime staff? To be honest, I agree with them but cant say that. Any ideas on how to respond/keep moral up?

 

[akcire]

The company is hoping things will turn around soon and want to retain our talented staff.

 

[puffkin]

I don't know what to say either, but I would give anything to be back at my old job with a 20% pay cut rather than working a temp job plus a pt job at 40% less than before! Maybe just tell them they are trying to save everyones job rather than laying off some friends and coworkers.

 

[mamacatnv]

It sounds like the company is trying to preserve everyones jobs and is passing the cutback burden to all employees. Just because they are part time doesn't mean they don't need the job as much as a full time person.

I'd remind everyone who whines that given the numbers in parts of the country, they should be very thankful to still have jobs and remind them also that no one is making them stay.

We have really high unemployment numbers here in NV - My employer has retained our entire workforce. They cut back on the cadillac medical plan we offered (free to all employees) and now everyones co-pays went up a few dollars, yet the company still pays 100% for the employee. I was flabbergasted at the whining and complaining these folks did over a few dollars in out of pocket costs. Gheesh, do they not read the paper, do they not know how bad it is out there?

 

[golfgal]

They don't pay benefits for part-time staff which is why they probably don't cut them. At 32 hours the "full" timers are still benefit eligible under most company plans.

 

[Darcy03231]

While this is an intensely personal decision for you, keep in mind that you may end up losing some full time people you really want to keep. Depending on the type of work you do it may be difficult to replace them.

This happened where I work. After 13.5 years I was reduced to a 32 hour work week. It was announced to all staff on Friday, January 22, 2010 in an office meeting that effective immediately we would be working 32 hours a week. Since I need full time work I decided to look around, thinking it might take a while for me to find something. I saw a job listed on monster that sounded like it would be a good fit for me. I decided to mail a resume in even though the job had been posted since 1/12/2010 and figured it was most likely filled. I mailed a resume in on 1/25, received a call for an interview on 1/26, was interviewed on 1/27 and received the offer on the morning on 1/29(plus the salary is higher and the benefits are better). I accepted it and gave my two week notice. This Friday is my last day at the old job. My current boss never thought I'd find something else in this economy, or that I would leave after having worked for him all this time.

 

[quentina]

wow, not looking forward to tomorrow. I manage a staff of 20 and have to tell them tomorrow that business is cutting them back to 32hours/week. We had already cut back to 36 a week. It will really impact alot of them, they already blew thru their paid time off due to the cutback. Most are full time, tho we have some parttimers that will go to 20/week. Now, one question I have had to dodge from the fulltimers: Why not layoff the parttimers? Why not preserve the fulltime staff? To be honest, I agree with them but cant say that. Any ideas on how to respond/keep moral up?

They can collect a partial unemployment benefit if hours are cut by no fault of their own.

 

[PatsGirl]

They can collect a partial unemployment benefit if hours are cut by no fault of their own.

Alot of people are not aware of this but it is true. My company does hours reduction based on census and after 6 weeks of losing 10 hours a week I decided to find out what my options were. Once I mentioned to the boss that I would be seeking unemployment for those lost hours the reduction stopped. My other concern was after so many weeks, my benefits would have been based on pt rather than ft so I mentioned that as well.

Sure, sometimes it's better to have a 30 hour/week job than losing it, but how about taking care of those that have been there for 15-20 years and working full time instead of catering to the part time employees because they are cheaper and have no benefits

 

[quentina]

Alot of people are not aware of this but it is true. My company does hours reduction based on census and after 6 weeks of losing 10 hours a week I decided to find out what my options were. Once I mentioned to the boss that I would be seeking unemployment for those lost hours the reduction stopped. My other concern was after so many weeks, my benefits would have been based on pt rather than ft so I mentioned that as well.

Sure, sometimes it's better to have a 30 hour/week job than losing it, but how about taking care of those that have been there for 15-20 years and working full time instead of catering to the part time employees because they are cheaper and have no benefits

Since I work in HR, I cringed as I was writing it. Our UC insurance rate is based on prior years usage (amount paid out of fund). SInce the employer pays the UC anyway, it is better to just put you on the clock!

 

[clh2]

They can collect a partial unemployment benefit if hours are cut by no fault of their own.

This is not true in all cases. My husband suffered through 2 versions of a 20% pay cut last year. For six months, he was "off" one week out of every 5.
He received unemployment when he was off for the 1 week.

It took the mgrs about 6 months to realize that this staffing model sucked...so, they changed this to 1 day off every week...and then no unemployment was paid.

DH is back to full time, which we are greatful for. Unfortunately, 12 people out of 18 lost their jobs in the meantime.

To the OP - are you getting the 20% paycut too? I'm only asking because in DH's company, the management did not get the "20% paycut". This caused far more resentment than anything else.

I would not do as one poster suggested: I'd remind everyone who whines that given the numbers in parts of the country, they should be very thankful to still have jobs and remind them also that no one is making them stay This statement will tick people off...on top of them already being ticked off.

I would be factual with the people. Be brief. Don't make any statements that this is being done to preserve jobs until the company gets back on their feet. You cannot promise this... and if further cuts are needed, you will be the bad guy to the remaining staff.

Good Luck...not a fun day ahead of you...