what do i do?

[pink princess]

ok, cutting a long story short...

i have worked for my present company for almost 5 years... ive recently learnt that im being paid about £5k less than i should be when compared to external jobs...

my present company is a huge multinational giant (!) so when they advertise jobs internally they VERY rarely put salary details mostly to stop people being able to compare what they are on.... as it happens they slipped up and i found one being advertised in a very similar role to me a grade lower paying £4k more than me...

ive been in 'talks' with them about all this for the last couple of months and so far not much has happened and ive just been totally fobbed off by my manager, he has said its in hand but hes trying to say that the other secretarys here arent being paid that £5k more.... i KNOW they are because ive asked them!

ok so heres the even more tricky bit... it just so happens that salary review time is coming around in october so all the salary spreadsheets are floating around at the moment.... they are password protected though... but me being the bright spark that i am has manage to crack the code and got into them.... they prove that i am £5k down on the AVERAGE salary for someone at my grade.... but evidently i cant really use these pieces of paper..... or can i? i opened the spreadsheet out of someone elses inbox (which i have legitimate access to!)

help! what do i do!

i dont really want to leave and get another job i just want to be paid fairly for the work that i do.....

hope that all makes sense....

[Accountable]

This issue about keeping pay secret is an issue I've been p!ssed off about since I got out of the military. When I bring it up to someone in a management position, I usually get something like "We can't allow employees to share that information! The jealousy would ruin morale! The government has it's pay system posted everywhere for anyone to see. Everyone knows, usually to the penny, what everyone else makes. The only thing keeping pay a secret has done for me is make me wonder if I'm being paid fairly. Keeping pay a secret allows a company to screw employees just as they apparently have screwed you, Pink.

If employees' pay is fair and equitable, it would increase morale to allow disclosure!

How's the employment in your area? Would threatening to quit have an affect? If you have legitimate access to the pay information other employees in comparable positions, you might consider using that information in your review. It really depends on the politics of your particular situation. You say you're a secretary? What about seeking another secretary position within the company?

[chrisb84uk]

I'm not really the best person to be helping on job matters, but I think Ac's advice is good. I hope everything turns out the way u want it to PP. And remember to keep smiling, it won't help to have your smile turned upside down by your job

[PurpleChicken]

I'm not sure that you should be using the info about other people in the company...even if you legitimately have access to the spreadsheet, it was password protected and you had to crack the code (nice work there btw ).

I would do some research external to the company. You have already said that you've seen jobs advertised for more $$. Use this as your basis. But also be armed with why you should be paid more. Lay out your arguments for the value you add to the company. If you quietly go about doing your job, sometimes your boss may not really know exactly how you add value - it can't hurt to point it out.

As a manager myself (but in a public company, so salaries are a bit more open - though only up to a certain level), I find it frustrating that people just expect that they should get a pay rise. In my company, everyone is eligible for a pay increment on each 12 month anniversary (as well as CPI + x rises under the overarching workplace agreement), but it has now become an expectation. Really everyone has to earn it. Don't get me wrong, most people do, and when you measure their performance against their plan, I have no problems signing it off.

Don't forget, your manager can't and won't remember everything that you do, so go in prepared, and spell out why you deserve more money. I'd certainly listen!

[pink princess]

just so you all know, i do feel bad for having used slightly questionable methods to get hold of the info..... but im proud of myself for managing it!!

erm trying to remember all the points...

ok, theres no jobs advertised within the company at the moment which are suitable for me to apply for

externally, i am registered with a recruitment agency (i hate them tho they are always useless) and if nothing gives here ill start to write direct to people and ask if they want to employ me!

erm whatelse.... oh am i worth it..... without sounding big headed people around say that im the most helpfu secretary in the building, i do things the others refuse to do and im always cheery etc

i just dont think they are gonna pay me the going rate and im dont know how to make sure they do....

[Accountable]

If you're that far below the going rate, it may be too much to ask right away, even if you deserve it. If you can draw concrete numbers of how you helped the company, do it. As a secretary, that means your product getting your boss a bonus. If he/she has gotten a bonus, raise or other chuck, show how your expertise in arranging the presentations, fast & thorough research, etc made it possible for him/her to be so effective.

Above all, show that you are fully supportive of the company line, but you deserve proper respect as well.

[PurpleChicken]

Wasn't having a crack about you use of 'slightly questionable' means - apologies if it sounded that way.

But if you're as good as you say (and I don't doubt that for a minute), then you would have no problems getting another job. You may need to use this as leverage. I think you also need to consider how much you want to stay at the company. it's a bit harder when you don't want to leave. I always have the attitude that I'm employable, so if I'm not comfortable with something, then I say it, and hopefully it will be resolved. Realise that it's not as easy at it may sound though. Good luck with it. Love to hear how you go....

[pink princess]

hey no didnt think you were having a go, i genuinely do feel a bit bad but its something that had to be done!!

and it shows initiative and an intelligence to have worked out the password!!

acc - thats one thing i dont get, why wont a company give that much at once? im below what i should be paid so why dont they just pay it? why do they have to do it in stages - i dont understand.....

[Accountable]

Originally Posted by pink princess

hey no didnt think you were having a go, i genuinely do feel a bit bad but its something that had to be done!!

and it shows initiative and an intelligence to have worked out the password!!

acc - thats one thing i dont get, why wont a company give that much at once? im below what i should be paid so why dont they just pay it? why do they have to do it in stages - i dont understand.....

You go to a new store & find out they're selling these fab super high quality high fashion shoes for a fraction of what you'd pay at Nordstrom's (High-end dept store). You become a regular customer, shopping there often, maybe even exclusively. One day you walk in ready to spend some money to find that they've suddenly jacked their prices up to Nordstrom's level. A lot of customers would feel cheated, even to the point of shopping at Nordstrom's out of spite.

It's not truth or fairness at work here, it's perception. Imagine if word got out that your pay nearly doubled when others only got a 5% rise!

[pink princess]

true but all being adults youd have to hope that people were sensible enough to realise thta for the last 3 years or so ive been hideously underpaid..... i cant even being to think how much money ive lost...

i see your point but if they are being fair to others and paying as they deserve they should be fair to me....

ive now got hold of a copy of what all secretarys in the company in this building are being paid and they are all about £2k above the average.... im only asking for average.....

oh it blows!

am not gonna let it get me down tho or stress me out!