I have just read your article “Robinson Low Francis slash staff pay 12.5%” (13 March, page 15)

In fact, the article is more about what is happening in other firms than about the headline subject and mentions just some of the latest rounds of pay and job cuts.

All firms are having to reappraise their cost bases and look at ways of keeping their staff on board and many are taking the route of pay cuts so that capacity is maintained. Redundancies are necessary in some cases where the reduction in workload is just too great but otherwise pay cuts are a good way of keeping effective teams together and sharing the burden between members of staff rather than loading all the pain and hardship onto relatively few.

We are not ashamed of the fact that Edge Structures instigated a 10% pay cut from 1 December in order to give us more time to weather the storm. Our staff have reacted with true grit and I have never seen a more motivated team.

Most employers are taking such regrettable but responsible actions to protect the interests of their firms and their employees, so it is unfortunate that such a large headline was deemed warranted. Let’s not put all our emphasis on the necessary but unpleasant consequences on companies and individuals.

Tony Bailey, managing director, Edge Structures

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