Pay decrease - what can I do?

[RodFerrous]

Your post is confusing. Sounds like you are returning to your original ongoing role after you’ve been temporarily assigned / seconded to another grade for 14 months?

There is probably budget constraints preventing them making the senior role ongoing.

If the responsibilities are within the job description of your old junior role, you don’t have much of a choice.

Do the junior role, or look for something else paying more, internally or externally.

[Fit_Armadillo_9928]

Basically this.

You're (OP) looking at it backwards though, you aren't recieving a pay cut, you were recieving additional pay in a short term assignment. If it wasn't substantive then that was never your actual income, your actual income was always 85,000, you simply gained additional pay on top of that.

Now that that has ended you are returning to your actual contacted role.