Questions about payslip? Legal advice!

Questioner

Hello and HELP!, Early November I asked a question regarding the hours stated on my payslip. Unfortunately I have not received any response to this, hence my second attempt. I have been working for several years now (paid employment) for a company that falls under the retail collective labor agreement. I work here 42 hours a week. Since the beginning of this year (January 2015), the number of hours per week on the pay slip suddenly shows 38 instead of 42. While I have a contract for 42 hours. To compensate, my hourly wage has increased so that I receive the same salary. Inquiries about this have been made to the administrative office that handles the bookkeeping. They state that if the working week exceeds 38 hours, the pension calculation will not work correctly. This would mean that insufficient pension would be paid for the months of January to December. As a result, this will be corrected in December and I will receive less salary to compensate for the pension deficit. It all sounds very strange to me and my colleagues and I can't figure it out. What are the consequences of this, and is this even allowed? On paper I now work 208 hours less per year, even though I actually work these hours. Yours sincerely,

Lawyer

An employer may not unilaterally change agreements/hours, and must adhere to a collective labor agreement. If this is not done, you can demand compliance with the existing agreement and collective labor agreement. I advise you to at least send a letter to your employer stating that you do not want to be assessed for minus hours because they have changed this on the pay slip. If you do not do this, your employer can try to reclaim any minus hours. Whether something is actually wrong, I can only indicate by delving into the matter. If you would like further help and/or advice, please feel free to contact me.