Pay protection

I work for a local council and my department is currently being restructured. The council are currently in the process of downgrading our terms and conditions, one of which is that should you be placed in a job at a lower pay grade, you would receive pay protection for 3 years. In an email received last week we were informed that this may be amended to 1 year pay protection if you are job match/accept a position after 1st September.
It is looking like the posts will only be advertised in August, thus ensuring that all the posts are filled after 1st September at the reduced terms and conditions.

My question is, is this legal? We have been aware of the pending restructure since August last year, and only now (after the management level has been restructured) are the terms & conditions being revised.

Welcome to public sector cuts.

Yes, it is legal, and many councils are reducing from 1 year or 2 years to less than a year. In fact, you are quite lucky they have any jobs for you to apply for. I know of a few restructures that have consisted of no department being left! I should also point out that this change will have been agreed, at some level of meaning of the word agreement, with the unions. They p[robably had no choice about it, but that certainly makes it legal.