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How is this even legal? FB signed contract to pay X amount of dollars and now it can lower that amount unilaterally and without any kind of warning?

Mind boggling to me, but then again I live in Europe... So, how does it work in US?

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I guess the work contract also said that the Facebook employee has to show up for X hours per week at Facebook HQ to fulfill their duties. In other words: the permanent home office arrangement requires a new work contract anyway.

there is no "work contract" for employment in the US. It's at-will employment, the employer can change the terms at any time and if the employee doesn't like it, he can go elsewhere. Not saying this is a good thing (European countries do have work contracts for instance), or even expressing a preference (I personally think having a contract would be a good thing), just stating the state of affairs in US employment.

This is no different anywhere else, the company just says "at the end of whatever term we've committed to, eg 3m, we want to pay you less. Take it or leave it".

Same as of they were giving you a raise, the terms can change.

Huh, I have permanent contract without end date. It is forbidden here to keep people on short term contracts indefinitely. Raise is done as an amendment to the contract and, technically, can be refused.

Yeah but the contract has a clause that says if either of you wants to stop working together, there's a few months notice, right? It's only permanent in the sense that the end date is not known beforehand.

I can leave the company at will (respecting the notice period) but they cannot easily get rid of me. They can eliminate the role I'm in, but they must offer me a replacement if they can. Of course due to covid a lot of companies have to fire people and they absolutely can: the realities of business have changed. Firing due to poor performance is bit hard, but not impossible. Firing due to gross negligence is also possible and happenes, though you must really screw up to be eligible.

But that contract also says you must show up every day at their office. If you want to go full remote, or change location, you must negotiate a contract change and your new salary is on the table.

My company has offices in several European countries. If you want to move from our German site to our Spanish one, you’ll take a pay cut.

> How is this even legal? FB signed contract to pay X amount of dollars and now it can lower that amount unilaterally and without any kind of warning?

I think it works the same in Europe right? If you work for a company in Zurich and then move with them to London your wages will decrease, right? The difference being you will have to sign a new contract because its a different country. In the case of the US, they might not have to sign a different contract (unless they are on a visa). There is nothing stopping them from checking with FB what their new pay would be and then move.

It's at-will employment: they can fire you for mostly whatever. The upside is it's easier to be hired, because hiring is less risky for employers.

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