I was once asked, during the original dot-com crash many moons ago, to take a pay cut. I replied, essentially, that this was fine by me, as long as I could cut my weekly hours proportionally (I was working full time). I never heard anything more about it, and my pay was not cut, nor was I asked to reduce my hours. This was a small company, and at the same time, other people at the company were being let go.
Ask HN: Should I sign a pay cut agreement?
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Re: Ask HN: Should I sign a pay cut agreement?
#12I was once asked, during the original dot-com crash many moons ago, to take a pay cut. I replied, essentially, that this was fine by me, as long as I could cut my weekly hours proportionally (I was working full time). I never heard anything more about it, and my pay was not cut, nor was I asked to reduce my hours. This was a small company, and at the same time, other people at the company were being let go.
Hmm. Where did that end up? Did the pay cuts alleviate over time or did those people get laid off when the company did worse?
Re: Ask HN: Should I sign a pay cut agreement?
#13In the US they don't do this. The thinking is someone getting a lower salary and the same job will not be very motivated. It's better to just get them go and keep other employees at their same level or higher.
My current company did an across-the-board paycut at the start of the pandemic (salaries reinstated later that year).
Re: Ask HN: Should I sign a pay cut agreement?
#14I've only been in situations where pay-cuts were offered a couple of times. In both cases equity was offered. In the more recent case, equity was offered with instant vesting, and there was a commitment to repay the deducted pay in full after the situation (short-term cache flow issues due to delays with fundraising) had ended.
The 2nd case was obviously a better deal, the only risk to me was that the fundraising would fail completely. If they're not offering you any kind of upside, you need to push back.
Re: Ask HN: Should I sign a pay cut agreement?
#15Forget about the company, this boils down to choices. Can you get another job relatively easy within a month, or for as long as you can finance your unemployment? If the answer is no, you need the job and most likely should take the pay cut. Whatever your choice will be, it's time to start looking for a new job. The behavior you describe in your employer sounds to me like they don't put value in employees.
Thank you. I'm not bothered about the company, though I do like the employees and the work. I'm trying to find the best way forward mid-long term for me. The company won't think twice about letting me go. I have options for jobs that I am reasonably confident about. They're becoming more attractive over time.
Re: Ask HN: Should I sign a pay cut agreement?
#16I was once asked, during the original dot-com crash many moons ago, to take a pay cut. I replied, essentially, that this was fine by me, as long as I could cut my weekly hours proportionally (I was working full time). I never heard anything more about it, and my pay was not cut, nor was I asked to reduce my hours. This was a small company, and at the same time, other people at the company were being let go.
Hmm. Where did that end up? Did the pay cuts alleviate over time or did those people get laid off when the company did worse?
The company was entirely focused at what turned out to be a technological dead end, so the business did not improve much in the short term. I don’t know what happened much later, though, as I later quit that job for unrelated reasons, but the company seems to still exist, and they seem to have pivoted to other products.
Re: Ask HN: Should I sign a pay cut agreement?
#17In the US they don't do this. The thinking is someone getting a lower salary and the same job will not be very motivated. It's better to just get them go and keep other employees at their same level or higher.
That's not true - my last two companies have done haircuts along with layoffs. At my current company we were promised a bonus of Nx the haircut at a certain point in time as compensation...though whether that happens or not is still to be seen.
Did those companies perhaps recover or did it go further south?
Re: Ask HN: Should I sign a pay cut agreement?
#18> They chose to cut salaries rather than cut the office rent and catered lunch/snack expenses
Real-estate is surprisingly hard to get rid of. Depending on the size they might be stuck with a multi-year lease. Cutting snacks and lunch doesn't substantially change the equation.
That said, I'd start looking for another job. Layoffs AND a paycut for those that remain doesn't fit well. Might as well layoff more people and keep the others "happy".
Re: Ask HN: Should I sign a pay cut agreement?
#19In the US they don't do this. The thinking is someone getting a lower salary and the same job will not be very motivated. It's better to just get them go and keep other employees at their same level or higher.
My current company did an across-the-board paycut at the start of the pandemic (salaries reinstated later that year).
One year is a long time. Did they give raises at that point too?
Re: Ask HN: Should I sign a pay cut agreement?
#20> They chose to cut salaries rather than cut the office rent and catered lunch/snack expenses Real-estate is surprisingly hard to get rid of. Depending on the size they might be stuck with a multi-year lease. Cutting snacks and lunch doesn't substantially change the equation. That said, I'd start looking for another job. Layoffs AND a paycut for those that remain doesn't fit well. Might as well layoff more people and…
Real estate is also really cheap in comparison to actually paying people, especially in some areas with long-term deals.