Can I simply be demoted in the pay scale due to a mistake made by 2 other employees?

Questioner

In October 2020 I started working at XYZ. After working in a department for 3 years, I transferred internally to another department and was given a permanent contract. Now they have classified me incorrectly, in scale 7 while this is a scale 6 position. One of my managers overlooked this and the HR department also overlooked it. Now they want to put me back to scale 6 while I am in 7 due to a mistake of others. Is this allowed? Just curious.

Lawyer

According to Dutch employment law, in this situation, several factors would be considered. The contract you signed when you moved to the new position is an important document. If this contract states that you would receive pay scale 7, it can be more complicated for the employer to simply change this. Especially if you can demonstrate that you performed your work under the trust that you were in pay scale 7. However, according to the law, a unilateral change in the employment contract may be implemented by the employer if there is a significant business interest. However, the employer should be able to provide clear evidence for this. On the other hand, if your contract states that your position is actually in pay scale 6, the employer may have a stronger position. However, since you have been paid according to pay scale 7 for a while, a legitimate expectation or even customary law may have arisen. I recommend discussing this further with your employer and possibly consulting an employment lawyer, as the details of your specific situation can make a big difference in the outcome of this. --------------- Stichting Rechtswinkel.nl is a national organization with students and volunteers. The above advice is based on limited information and may be incomplete or even incorrect for your situation. Always consult a lawyer or attorney for your further steps. Read disclaimer: https://rechtswinkel.nl/disclaimer I would like to invite you to rate the above answer so that we can learn from your response.