Part-Time Equal Pay Question?

brannid3

Hi everyone ,

It has just been brought to my attention recently that I am being paid a lower hourly rate then my full time co-workers.It is important to note that we are all female in my area so sex discrimination is not the issue, I believe it is because I am a part-time worker. I work less than 22 hours a week.

I understand that this is allowed as long as there is objective justifications for this,however I fail to see one.The work we do is of the same value and is of like-work.I could go as far as saying that I do more work when I'm there but of course I can't prove that and it doesn't matter.

The only thing I can think of is seniority (which I think would be hard to prove as I started only a few months later and I'm there three years now) or that one of my co-workers was offered a higher wage for changing from part-time to full time.However it is not known to me if that was the case.

It appears i am not the only one with this problem.The other part timers are all on the same lower wage while their comparable full time counterparts are on higher wages.In this case some part timers are there longer then the full timers.

I do not feel comfortable speaking with Head Office about this because there are always quite abrupt to me on the phones.There is no HR office to ask about the situation.No unions are involved.There's no manager in the store and we operate through a telephone head office system.

A family friend is a solicitor and has talked to me on the matter and he says that he can write a letter to the company just to ask for the correct justifications for my wage.I just want to know what you guys think and if I'm digging for trouble here.Thanks.

Oranage2

brannid3 wrote: »

Hi everyone ,

It has just been brought to my attention recently that I am being paid a lower hourly rate then my full time co-workers.It is important to note that we are all female in my area so sex discrimination is not the issue, I believe it is because I am a part-time worker. I work less than 22 hours a week.

I understand that this is allowed as long as there is objective justifications for this,however I fail to see one.The work we do is of the same value and is of like-work.I could go as far as saying that I do more work when I'm there but of course I can't prove that and it doesn't matter.

The only thing I can think of is seniority (which I think would be hard to prove as I started only a few months later and I'm there three years now) or that one of my co-workers was offered a higher wage for changing from part-time to full time.However it is not known to me if that was the case.

It appears i am not the only one with this problem.The other part timers are all on the same lower wage while their comparable full time counterparts are on higher wages.In this case some part timers are there longer then the full timers.

I do not feel comfortable speaking with Head Office about this because there are always quite abrupt to me on the phones.There is no HR office to ask about the situation.No unions are involved.There's no manager in the store and we operate through a telephone head office system.

A family friend is a solicitor and has talked to me on the matter and he says that he can write a letter to the company just to ask for the correct justifications for my wage.I just want to know what you guys think and if I'm digging for trouble here.Thanks.

Look at your contract - As long as they're paying you what it says in your contract then I can't see the problem, You agreed to that pay after all!

amen

Look at your contract - As long as they're paying you what it says in your contract then I can't see the problem, You agreed to that pay after all!

that doesn't mean it right.

So If a work place has 10 employees, 5 men and 5 women. All doing equal work and all sign contracts its ok for the women to be paid less then the men?

Basically a part time worker is paid less per hour for the same work with the same experience. Thats not fair.

Keedowah

It was already explained that this wasn't a sexual discrimination issue so I dont think you should be changing it to one.

I agree - you should look at the contract again.

gerrycollins

amen wrote: »

that doesn't mean it right.

So If a work place has 10 employees, 5 men and 5 women. All doing equal work and all sign contracts its ok for the women to be paid less then the men?

Basically a part time worker is paid less per hour for the same work with the same experience. Thats not fair.

now that is sexual discrimination not pay discrimination.

amen

Sorry wasn't try to make it a sex discrimination case. Just trying to point out that if equal work and everything else the same then the pay should be the same.

gerrycollins

amen wrote: »

Sorry wasn't try to make it a sex discrimination case. Just trying to point out that if equal work and everything else the same then the pay should be the same.

thats where a union is beneficial to the staff.

the op should challenge the reason and see what he/she get

Oranage2

What rights do part-time workers have?

In general, a part-time employee may not be treated less favourably than a comparable full-time employee in respect of conditions of employment, including
pay and pensions, unless the employer can objectively justify the different
treatment. Any justification offered cannot be connected with the fact that the

employee is on a part-time contract.

From the Citizens information -


I dont know what work you do but do the full time workers do anything different than you at like handle/count money, clean up at the end, close up, go to meetings?

Your employer could make up anything really.

I know it's not right you get less than your full time co-workers for doing the same work but complain and you might see yourself failing the probation period.

Ken.

You could always ask your boss for a pay raise. Worst he can say is no. Go to him and tell him your doing the same work as your colleague's and feel you deserve it.

Irish_Elect_Eng

I am unsure what the issue is here, it is perfectly fair to pay people different wages for doing the same job if they agree to the contract. For example people hired at the height of the boom years will be on more money that those hired in leaner times.

Maybe not fair, but what should the employer do? Offer to pay the lower paid worker more than they ask for? Or reduce the wages of the higher paid worker?

There are some jobs where the pay is set for the role and experience, for example in the public service or where there are typed of collective bargaining arrangements, in those cases certainly the arrangement should be honoured, but for most other jobs, you get paid what you agree to work for.

In the past I have seen identical roles filled on the same day with $15K difference in wages and in another case where one person had a bonus clause and the next person hired did not as they did not ask for it.:eek:

brannid3

Irish_Elect_Eng wrote: »

I am unsure what the issue is here, it is perfectly fair to pay people different wages for doing the same job if they agree to the contract. For example people hired at the height of the boom years will be on more money that those hired in leaner times.

Maybe not fair, but what should the employer do? Offer to pay the lower paid worker more than they ask for? Or reduce the wages of the higher paid worker?

There are some jobs where the pay is set for the role and experience, for example in the public service or where there are typed of collective bargaining arrangements, in those cases certainly the arrangement should be honoured, but for most other jobs, you get paid what you agree to work for.

In the past I have seen identical roles filled on the same day with $15K difference in wages and in another case where one person had a bonus clause and the next person hired did not as they did not ask for it.:eek:

When you are accepting a job you do not get told what others are on.Discretion is used by employers here.I was told 'You are on minimum' and naturally I presume we all got the same.After the few years I find out that the full timers get more for the exact same job.There is no justification for this.We all started around the same time.

tatli_lokma

brannid3 wrote: »

When you are accepting a job you do not get told what others are on.Discretion is used by employers here.I was told 'You are on minimum' and naturally I presume we all got the same.After the few years I find out that the full timers get more for the exact same job.There is no justification for this.We all started around the same time.

While I do see where you are coming from, and it is frustrating, and more importantly, it does little to help morale and team spirit in work, the fact is, there is nothing to say that all employees must be paid the same for the same job. No you can't be discriminated against specifically and paid less because you are part time, but the difficulty is in provind discrimination. The justification may be that your f/t counterparts have more experience prior to starting the role, had more qualifications, or at interview stage they simply played the wages negotiation better.

as you say yourself

I was told 'You are on minimum' and naturally I presume we all got the same.

perhaps others said they expected a higher wage, where you admit yourself you simply accepted the minimum without question.


Also, the company could have decided to pay others a higher rate for F/T because for some wage brackets, this has a direct impact on take home pay. In my last job I compiled time sheets so I know for a fact that when you broke it down to an hourly rate, some p/timers actually had more take home per hour than f/timers who got paid more. For other roles, the p/timers got more money pro rata because they were not only p/t but flexible and may be called upon to work unsociable hours. I know this doesn't apply to your role, but my point is that it is not always a simple thing as - this is the role, this is the pay. There are other factors that employers take into account.

You have no way of knowing the individual circumstances around each employee's wage structure. While you can ask for reasons why you are paid what you are, you cannot ask for specific reasons why someone else gets more than you.

As I said, it is not conducive to a positive team spirit when people feel less valued than others, and I think it is unfair of your employer, but likewise speaking about wages and pointing fingers at others who get more than you can make a working environment very negative.

My only suggestion is that you conduct a time in motion study of your own work (not others, only yours). On the quiet keep a record of how you spend your day - are you doing a particularly high amount of a certain type of work? are you doing 'ad hoc' duties one could consider as additional to your job spec? can you prove that at times you go beyond the basic requirements of your job? can you show your work is to a high standard/quality/value? This sort of thing can then be used as evidence based information which you can take with you to your next review. Avoid saying well I do this and that, but Soandso doesn't do as much as me and gets paid more - that makes you look whingy and begrudging. Instead sell your strengths, prove your worth and hopefully you will get a pay rise.

Irish_Elect_Eng

There is a difference between:

• Discriminating because you are part time.
• Paying you less than other employees.

Three scenarios:

(a) Where a job has a salary range of 40-50k: I hire 2 full time employees(40 Hrs PW) on the same day and one agrees to an offer of 40k and the other haggles and agrees to an offer of 50k.

Do you accept that I as the HR manager am not discriminating, that I am getting the best deal that I can for my company?

(b) Where a job has a salary range of 40-50k: I hire 2 part time employees (20 Hrs PW) on the same day and one agrees to an offer of 20k and the other haggles and agrees to an offer of 25k.

Do you accept that I as the HR manager am not discriminating, that I am getting the best deal that I can for my company?

(c) Where a job has a salary range of 40-50k: I hire 1 part time (20 Hrs PW)and one full time employees on the same day and one (Part Time) agrees to an offer of 20k and the other (Full Time) haggles and agrees to an offer of 50k.

Do you accept that I as the HR manager am not discriminating, that I am getting the best deal that I can for my company?

I hope that I am getting my point across.