I have a very general (I bet youve heard that before) question…

The way this works is that if you refuse to agree to the change and they dismiss you, unless they are saying it's for cause, you will be entitled to what is considered to be reasonable notice or pay in lieu of notice.

If they do not fire you, but instead just force the demotion/cut in pay on you, then it may be that you can quit and still have the same entitlement. That is because a demotion and cut in pay are usually considered to create a situation where you can claim constructive dismissal. This means that the employer's conduct was tantamount to dismissal in that it drove you to quit.

If you are wrongfully dismissed, either because you are fired and not given proper notice or you quit claiming constructive dismissal, you will be entitled to damages. To a great extent the amount of damages will relate to how long you have worked for the employer.

If things are not worked out to your satisfaction your next step (and it's essential you do this before you quit) would be to sit down, face to face, with an employment lawyer who would need to review the particular details to be able to give you an opinion as to whether, based on your particular facts, you can claim constructive, or wrongful dismissal.

In fact, it would clearly make the most sense to do this ahead of speaking to the employer and certainly ahead of indicating whether you will sign the document or not.

I hope that helps.

Please click accept so that I can receive credit for providing you with this information.