BP is scrapping paid rest breaks and most bank holiday bonuses for its 5,400 forecourt staff in an effort to offset a planned increase in the independent living wage. The company plans to raise hourly pay to £13.45 by February, but the changes will actually result in a reduction of at least 6.25% in take-home pay.
The move has been met with criticism from workers, who claim that BP is trying to pass off its commitment to the Living Wage Foundation's fair pay scheme as new benefits when, in reality, they are simply replacing paid breaks and bank holiday premiums. The company had previously told managers about the changes at their Sunbury base, but did not inform staff directly.
Under current UK employment law, workers have the right to a 20-minute rest break during their working day if they work more than six hours a day, but it is not mandatory to pay for this break. However, BP's decision to scrap paid rest breaks and most bank holiday bonuses will impact workers in its 310 company-run forecourts and an additional 850 BP-branded forecourts run by partners.
The changes are part of a broader trend among retailers to cut paid breaks in order to offset increases in the minimum wage, employers' national insurance, and other labour costs. The TUC has condemned the move, saying it will be the worst possible time for workers to be hit with reduced benefits.
The move has been met with criticism from workers, who claim that BP is trying to pass off its commitment to the Living Wage Foundation's fair pay scheme as new benefits when, in reality, they are simply replacing paid breaks and bank holiday premiums. The company had previously told managers about the changes at their Sunbury base, but did not inform staff directly.
Under current UK employment law, workers have the right to a 20-minute rest break during their working day if they work more than six hours a day, but it is not mandatory to pay for this break. However, BP's decision to scrap paid rest breaks and most bank holiday bonuses will impact workers in its 310 company-run forecourts and an additional 850 BP-branded forecourts run by partners.
The changes are part of a broader trend among retailers to cut paid breaks in order to offset increases in the minimum wage, employers' national insurance, and other labour costs. The TUC has condemned the move, saying it will be the worst possible time for workers to be hit with reduced benefits.
. I get that BP wants to increase wages but this doesn't have to come at a cost to employees' well-being. 20-minute rest breaks are supposed to help people recharge and avoid burnout, not just disappear 
. It's like they're taking away one of the few benefits we actually need instead of finding ways to implement them better 
.
. If BP is really committed to the Living Wage scheme, they should be looking for other ways to improve employees' pay and benefits without cutting back on essential breaks 
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. It's not about fairness or workers' rights anymore, it's about squeezing every last penny 
. The TUC is right to condemn this move - we need better labour laws in place to protect workers from these kinds of decisions 
i mean bp has this huge plan to increase their hourly pay to £13.45 but instead of sharing that love with their employees they're gonna take away our break times lol what's up with that?! it's like they think we'll be all 'oh cool more money' and forget about the fact that we won't get paid for our breaks anymore 
i'm so curious why are retailers doing this? is it just to save some cash or is there something else going on? shouldn't they be giving their employees a break...literally! 
. They're increasing the hourly pay by £3.05, but taking away our breaks and bank holiday pay? That's a total slap in the face! What's next, getting paid less for working longer hours? 
they're getting a raise in hourly pay to £13.45 by Feb, but it's gonna be like 6.25% less in take-home pay 
that's still £1.23 less per hour! I get why they wanna offset the independent living wage increase, but scrapping paid rest breaks and most bank holiday bonuses is just not cool 
those short breaks can add up to a decent chunk of change for workers who need it most 
especially with TUC saying this is the worst time for them to lose benefits 
. It's like, hello, transparency matters! Take-home pay has already been taking a hit with the £13.45 hourly wage hike, so this move feels like another slap in the face 
. I mean, what's the point of living wage if it just means we get less money so we can have more free time? 
. I can understand why the TUC is up in arms about this too - it feels like they're just trying to pass off these changes as new benefits when really they're just taking away what we already had 
... it's all a bit shady, if you ask me 
. Anyway, I guess that's just the way of things now 
but whats the point of havin a livin wage if u dont get paid fer ur breaks lol? im not surprised tho, retailers r always lookin fer ways 2 cut costs & increase profits 
gotta give it 2 th TUC for speakin up 4 th workers tho 
