A ballot over a 13.5% paycut across Goodhead Group subsidiaries BGP and Stones concludes tomorrow, with the result expected on Monday.

Should the ballot receive a 'yes' vote, which Holland told PrintWeek he expected based on conversations with employees, the company intends to implement the cut by 1 April 2012, in time for the next financial year.

Holland confirmed that employees paid less than £15,000 per annum would not be affected by the cut, while nobody would be expected to drop below that figure.

He added said that he would personally be taking a 20% cut from 1 April, on top of a 20% cut all directors took last year.

He said: "Next year some directors will take a 20% cut. the minimum is 13.5%, but it is up to the individual how much they take; everyone will take a pay cut.

"The directors will go through as much if not more pain than the rest of the employees."

The ballot has gone ahead despite the protests of printers' union Unite, which has branded it "illegal" because no negotiations have taken place with the union. Unite said it has never been formally derecognised by the company.

Holland has refuted the union's claims, highlighting the fact that membership has fallen to around 16% of staff at the firm, which has not had any collective bargaining in force with Unite for around seven years.

Martin Edwards, a leading employment lawyer at the legal firm Weightmans, appears to back Holland's claim. He told the BBC: "To establish that it is recognised by the company. the union is likely to need to show it still has a right to negotiate with management.

"This right may be based on a valid written agreement or by a clear course of conduct. If the union allows the agreement to be ignored for several years, it may run the risk that the court finds that the agreement was implicitly brought to an end, perhaps by mutual consent."

However, Unite has maintained that it will pursue the company through the court if it implements the changes in April.

National officer Steve Sibbald said: "This will have to be tested in the court; if individuals choose to pursue it they will face a number of challenges.

"Having spoken to members, many have said they will not be able to absorb a 13.5% cut.  I spoke to one guy who is on about £20,000 and he is paying a lot to transfer back and forth to work. If he loses £4,000, he won't be able to afford to work for them.

"I can understand doing something temporarily to get over a hump, but not this. Morals and production will come crashing through the floor. Everybody that works there will be looking elsewhere. I know there are not many prospects around at the moment, but if the economy picks up people will be leaving in their droves. They will lose people."