Negotiating pay increase- unique situation

Dan133269

Ok I would appreciate some advice on this situation please.

Basically, I have been in my current job, for almost a year now. At the end of my probationary period (6 months) which coincided with the end of the year, I was given an 8% pay increase, which I did not ask for, as my superiors were happy with my work and wanted to reward me. Overall the job is going very well and I get regular positive feedback. The pay is not bad considering my age and experience level, although I think I am the lowest paid in the company.

I work in a specific department, let’s call it the Statistics department. There are only 2 of us in this department, with me being the statistician and my immediate boss being the head of statistics. There are several other departments, and then we have the overall boss. A few weeks ago, my immediate boss, i.e. the head of statistics, asked me how I would feel about working part-time for a different department within the company, let’s call it the IT department. She explained that it was the overall boss’ idea that I could maybe work a 50/50 split with my current department (statistics) and the other department (IT) as the statistics department is expecting a period of relative calm in the near future due to a big project coming to an end, and the IT department being snowed under with lots of projects and mounting workloads. I have done some work for the IT department already, only on an ad hoc basis, helping them out with little things here and there as a favour. I said I would certainly be interested.

Here is where it gets tricky, this other department (IT) is part of the company, but they have their own internal monetary budget, as they have separate clients from the rest of the company. I know it sounds strange, but I can’t explain anymore without really giving too much information away. So basically, they have their own wage levels which are set by the head of the IT department, signed off on by the overall boss of the company and then funded by their own clients. Although both department serve the overall purpose of the company, the actual work is unrelated, with the IT department and statistics department performing completely separately roles, which almost never overlap. In essence therefore, I would be working a completely new job, at least half the time.

Originally, my immediate boss informed me that I would be paid proportionally by the company as I currently am, and by the IT department from their own budget, relative to the amount that I am to work for them. The overall boss then changed that when she spoke to me, telling me that nothing will change, I will still have my current contract and will still continue to be paid by the company as I currently am, and not from the IT department pro rata. My contract and job title clearly spell out that I am working with the statistics dept. and make no mention at all of the IT dept. Thus, I can anticipate that they do not intend to give me a pay increase for this new work. I believe an increase is due however as I will be taking on additional duties, increasing my workload and having to get up to speed with a lot of new issues which are largely unfamiliar to me.

How do I negotiate a pay increase in this situation? I don’t have the exact figures but I have a good idea of what the people in the IT department earn. I think it fair that I should receive a comparable wage to them for the amount of work I perform for that department. I should add that I only said I am interested in it and it sounds good to me. I have never agreed to the change, or signed anything. We are due to discuss the issue tomorrow, me, my immediate boss, head of IT and overall boss.

Any opinions?
Thanks in advance.

Nody

For starters you are not going to get "an comparable wage" as you're not going to be around but you're in practice a temp brought in; hence I'd recommend you to set your expectations accordingly. Secondly also keep in mind that the duration of the assignment is for a limited period; hence anything you'd get is not going to be a permanent increase on your base salary if you ask the IT department to pay for it.

Now; the approach I'd take is that you're interested in expanding your knowledge and help the company (which in turn may lead to positions in said IT department as a permanent position) and in the next discussion with your manager on salary I'd bring up the fact you helped the other department, you've broadend your experience etc. as a basis for a permanent salary increase. This will also have the benefit of you getting a foot in the door into that department (if you do a good job) which may come back with a permanent job once a position comes up. This would play for the long term game of staying in the company and looking at moving into the IT department (an assumption from my side); if you're looking for short term gain and moving on you can always ask if there would be financial compensation for your expanded role but expect a no or low compensation to be offered if so.

Dan133269

Thanks for your response.

I should clarify that this change will be indefinite, it is not for a fixed or limited period, unless something changes at a future point in time at which point we will then re-discuss my position. I’ve also been told that it may be recommended that I work the majority of my time for the new department in the future, depending on how things go.

I am not being drafted in as some kind of secretary or intern, I will have personal responsibility and competence over at least 1 particular project.

When I said a comparable salary, I did not mean the equivalent amount. I meant that there should be some objective evaluation of my salary based on what that particular department pays, for whom I will be working. I don’t want to sell myself short and accept this new position with no increased pay, on the hope that I can negotiate an increase at my next evaluation, at which point they can simply say no. If I bargain for an increase at this stage, I have a lot more leverage as I am under no obligation at all to accept this new offer. That’s my reasoning.

I hope I’m not coming across as arrogant or anything, I’m not being selfish with the amount of money I’m looking for. The sector and city I’m living in has a lot of possibilities to climb the ladder. I’ve been head-hunted twice since I started this new job, something my managers don’t know about. Both my immediate boss and overall boss have said that they hope they can hang on to me for a few years.

tatli_lokma

I agree with Nody - I would say accept the 50/50 split, do your best and after a while there, maybe broach the subject of a pay rise in line with the work you do. At the moment you are an unknown. They think you are capable, but this has yet to be proven. I doubt they are going to agree to give you a pay rise when they don't yet know if the situation will work out. If they give a pay rise and you are crap at it then they will be stuck paying you that salary even though you are now solely back to doing your original job. And as Nody says it may not be permanent, so a payrise for a temporary situation would not make business sense as it means at the end of the temp period you remain on the higher duties salary eventhough you no longer have higher duties.

Also, don't be foolish in how you play this. You say your department is going to be quiet. Rather than put you part time or let you go they are accommodating you by spliting you between two departments. If you ask for more money they might decide to say no, let you go or move you to part time in statistics only and then take on a seperate person for IT.

One idea might be to suggest to your manager that at the end of the posting in IT, if they are satisfied with your work, perhaps they could agree to an unconsolodated bonus for the work you did. This means if you do a good job you'll get a few bob, but it won't form part of your contract of employment, which would be better for them. If the IT work becomes more long term then you can look at re-negotiating your salary in line with that.

Zeek12

I was in a similar situation a few years ago with my last employer. I undertook a 50/50 role for about 18 months but there was no pay rise initially. The second department I was joining was seen as a lateral move from my existing role.
I did get a very modest increase following my year-end review but that was about 8 months into the job. I think you need to prove you can really do the 50/50 role very well before expecting a pay rise. Not everyone is cut out for it.

For me the main benefit was learning new skills and improving my CV. I pretty much knew when I applied for the job that a pay increase was'nt on the cards right away. That's just the way they were in that company! Pay rises were not the norm!