A shake-up in working hours shifts is being introduced after Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick project director Steve Eccleston was replaced by fellow company project director Gary Fleming, who previously worked at Woolwich station.

Ecclestone is understood to have moved on to The Atomic Weapons Establishment where Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick is bidding for work.

The new working arrangements being introduced are planned to raise productivity.

But electricians said they could be up to £400 a month worse off because the changes would impact on productivity bonuses.

More than 200 electricians are working on the station M&E project for the Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall, VINCI Construction joint venture.

Work was due to finish last year but the main ticket hall and large concourse area is still far behind, with workers saying the station will likely not be finished until the end of this year.

The new working plan will see electricians on the job forced to decided whether they will work 8 or 10 hours with no flexibility built in.

An electrician told the Enquirer: “This is stoking up anger and could even blow up into industrial action on the job.”

A Balfour Beatty spokesperson said: “Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick’s workforce of electricians working on the Crossrail Whitechapel station project agreed to receive a productivity bonus should they meet the required criteria of working 50 hours per week.

“There has been no change to this agreement criteria. To ensure all of our employees are fairly rewarded for their work, the project is simply ensuring that the workforce comply with the agreement which has been in place for 18 months.”