Being promoted but no payrise?

LegacyUser

Hi folks, I'd rather remain unregistered for this thread if possible. Any assistance is much appreciated. I work in the sizeable international financial corporation which has an office in Dublin and also an office outside the capital where I work. Although the company has being hit by the worldwide recession it has not being severley affected. Many immediate competitors are in a worse situation and had to let people go. Having said that there has being some costcutting and a freeze implemented on recruitment at the start of the year which still remains in place. Up until then the office I work in had being growing steadily at a phenominal rate.

At my last annual review which was about six months ago I put forward the request that I be considered for promotion in the professional development section. I was told by my reviewer that there was presently very little happening in the way of promotions but I would certainly be strongly considered when things turn around as it would be due to me and my work, timekeeping, attendance etc could not be faulted. That was fair enough I thought and as I did not see anybody else being promoted. Yesterday I was pulled aside by my boss and she told me she submitted a proposal form for my promotion to Dublin for me to be considered for promotion. In general I believe once it is progressed to this stage one would be failrly certain of promotion. She did say however that there would be be no payrise at least not now but there might be one come March hopefully. If I was being promoted at this stage it would be within the next few weeks. I was taken aback when she said there woul be no payrise but did not say a whole lot on this as I was caught unawares.

After this I was thinking that this is not right. I understand that people are taking paycuts in many workplaces but not in mine or at least none that I have heard of. For all intents and purposes I believe being promoted without a payrise is in affect a paycut but perhaps I am incorrect in saying this? If this is the case why should I take a paycut if none of my colleagues are I am thinking. I'd be taking on extra responsibility with no extra compensation. I have not signed any new contract yet but am wondering now should I. I understand I ideally should have have trashed this out with my boss when I was pulled aside but as I say I was caught of guard somewhat. I do not want to ruin my chances of promotion or progression in the future due to turning down promotion now but at the same time I feel I would be treated as a sucker if I did not demand a payrise with my promotion and would I even get a payrise to bring me in line with other people at my level when things turn around I'm wondering. I do admit that in my department I would be slightly ahead of people currently at the same level as me or so I was told by my boss but I do have more relevant experience in a competitor firm prior to current employment and ideally should have being promomted before now. I would be behind the paylevel of the level I would be promoted to with my current salary.

Does anybody have any insight or perhaps were in a similar situation that may be able to assist and advise me how I should approach the situation please?

Thoie

It's a rough situation, and there's no easy answer.

Some companies will wiggle payfreezes for promotions, but there's no obligation on them to do so. For your own sanity I'd really try to avoid looking on it as you taking a paycut when no-one else is - that's not really accurate and you could drive yourself mad with those thoughts.

Many people do take on extra responsibility without additional money - it's up to yourself to decide if you're willing to do that. I think a strong argument in your case is that the cost of living in Dublin might be higher than wherever you are now. Play on that angle - remember if there's a pay freeze on, HR will have to do some severe justification to get someone's salary raised, so help them out by having a few good arguments they can use. "I want more money" isn't a unique enough argument

The most worrying thing for me is the line "there might be a payrise in March hopefully". I've been there before, and it's amazing how it turns out that this 5%/10% increase never materialises, and you could be left feeling that you were thick for ever thinking it might happen. If you are going to accept the promotion, get something in writing. Do not let it include the phrase "dependent on performance" - if your performance is perfect they'll come back and say "Oh, we meant the company's performance". Point out that there should be two separate things happening in March - an annual pay increase review, which happens for everyone, and is performance based, and in your case a special "benchmarking" review to bring you into line with others of your grade. Do not let them combine these two things.

Draft out the conditions you're amenable to, taking into account the general state of play in your sector. I think it would be reasonable to ask them to commit to increasing your salary in March in line with benchmarking throughout your new grade. Possibly throw in something about backpay for the intervening period, but be willing to be flexible on that.

In some companies, pay scales can overlap a bit, so it is possible that you're earning the same/slightly higher than someone at the bottom of the next level up.

Does the new grade include a better/different bonus scheme? Get it in writing that you're now eligible for that. If it's percentage based, and you do get your "promotion" rise in March, make sure that your bonus (if there are any) is pro-rata'd.

On the other hand you should also take into account whether there are extra benefits associated with the higher grade - better VHI, or increased holidays, or a better pension plan or something.