A petition drafted by a B&Q manager has already earned over 120,000 signatures and has put human resource managers on high alert. The petition accuses the company of cutting employee benefits as a way to offset the costs of the national living wage (NLW).

B&Q is a DIY store that has recently earned itself a lot of negative attention. According to the change.org petition, a B&Q employee claims that the retailer suggested removing time-and-a-half pay for working Sundays and double time for working bank holidays. Additionally, the company suggested a restructuring of allowances for employees working in certain parts of the UK and the removal of a summer and winter bonus. The petition also states that B&Q made it mandatory for employees to accept the new conditions, or job loss could be a reality.

While the suggestion is that B&Q is making these changes using the NLW as an excuse, a B&Q spokesman denied this:

“Our aim is to reward all of our people fairly so that employees who are doing the same job receive the same pay,” the spokesman said. “This isn’t the case at the moment, as some have been benefiting from allowances for a long time when others have not, and that can’t continue.”

Some HR experts explain that sudden reactions to the national living wage will not benefit any company as they can actually have long-term, negative consequences.