Discrimination in Pay

jt69er

Just to put into context what the issue is. Firstly, I now understand that there is no discrimination taking place here as it does not fall under the nine headings for discrimination. I work in a team of 30, employed by company"A", all doing identical work throughout the country Pre 2018 we worked for 3 different contractors, contracted to company "A". I worked with four others for one of the contractors. In 2018 Company "A" took the work in house so all of us became employees of company"A". Subsequently it was established that five of us were being paid less than the others for no apparent reason. I would like to know if anyone else has ever found themselves in this position and were they able to resolve the issue.

Dav010

jt69er wrote: »

Just to put into context what the issue is. Firstly, I now understand that there is no discrimination taking place here as it does not fall under the nine headings for discrimination. I work in a team of 30, employed by company"A", all doing identical work throughout the country Pre 2018 we worked for 3 different contractors, contracted to company "A". I worked with four others for one of the contractors. In 2018 Company "A" took the work in house so all of us became employees of company"A". Subsequently it was established that five of us were being paid less than the others for no apparent reason. I would like to know if anyone else has ever found themselves in this position and were they able to resolve the issue.

Sounds like they negotiated better rates of pay either while they were working for the contractor or when they moved in house. All you can do is ask for a raise, not a great time to be doing it, but if you don’t ask you don’t get.

OMM 0000

It's also possible they are just considered better and more important so they got a sweeter deal.

Work isn't like school. You don't just sit there and hope your hard work will make the teacher like you and you'll get a good grade. You have to fight for what you want, and that includes building relationships with management, making sure your work is noticed, making sure the perception of you is better than the reality, etc.

KaneToad

nthclare wrote: »

Women in the same positions of men on different pay scales, which is totally unfair and HR then lying to people's faces, taking it personal and worried about themselves rather than admitting they messed up and will fix it.

Where is this happening in the public sector??
I've never heard of a gender specific payscale.

Mrs OBumble

jt69er wrote: »

Just to put into context what the issue is. Firstly, I now understand that there is no discrimination taking place here as it does not fall under the nine headings for discrimination. I work in a team of 30, employed by company"A", all doing identical work throughout the country Pre 2018 we worked for 3 different contractors, contracted to company "A". I worked with four others for one of the contractors. In 2018 Company "A" took the work in house so all of us became employees of company"A". Subsequently it was established that five of us were being paid less than the others for no apparent reason. I would like to know if anyone else has ever found themselves in this position and were they able to resolve the issue.

There's an EU regulation which says that agency workers cannot be paid less than direct employees doing the same work. However I'm not sure that it would apply since you've all been taken in-house. It may be worth consulting a lawyer re whether there's an angle here.

But - how has the firm fared with Covid? How is it likely to fare in a downturn over the next couple of years? It could be that being a "cheaper" employee is career-enhancing at the moment, and that it's not a good time to rock the boat.

jt69er

OMM 0000 wrote: »

It's also possible they are just considered better and more important so they got a sweeter deal.

Work isn't like school. You don't just sit there and hope your hard work will make the teacher like you and you'll get a good grade. You have to fight for what you want, and that includes building relationships with management, making sure your work is noticed, making sure the perception of you is better than the reality, etc.

Has this been your experience?

runawaybishop

jt69er wrote: »

Has this been your experience?

I've been paid and significantly more than colleagues there longer than me on the same team because I can negotiate better. Being able to sell your worth is a critical skill.

jt69er

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

There's an EU regulation which says that agency workers cannot be paid less than direct employees doing the same work. However I'm not sure that it would apply since you've all been taken in-house. It may be worth consulting a lawyer re whether there's an angle here.

But - how has the firm fared with Covid? How is it likely to fare in a downturn over the next couple of years? It could be that being a "cheaper" employee is career-enhancing at the moment, and that it's not a good time to rock the boat.

Thank's for that suggestion. Company doing ok at the moment but nobody knows what the future holds.

OMM 0000

jt69er wrote: »

Has this been your experience?

Yes, salaries in the workplace are based on multiple things. I would say the least important factor is how good you are at your job. Ahead would be negotiation skills, actually asking for a raise, politics, luck, perception.

Batgurl

Pay is also only one metric that can be used to determine employee value and people tend to forget this.

In the private sector, it could be that the person on a lower salary has more annual leave, or flexi time, or private benefits like health insurance, stock options or a bonus scheme.

Not everyone values the same things, especially if earning higher figures where it’s all going to be eaten up by tax anyway.

OMM 0000

Also it should be noted management don't spend a lot of time thinking about your own salary. They probably only think about it once a year on your review. So it's up to you to remind them you should be paid more. Make your case and ask for a raise.

Jim Root

jt69er wrote: »

Just to put into context what the issue is. Firstly, I now understand that there is no discrimination taking place here as it does not fall under the nine headings for discrimination. I work in a team of 30, employed by company"A", all doing identical work throughout the country Pre 2018 we worked for 3 different contractors, contracted to company "A". I worked with four others for one of the contractors. In 2018 Company "A" took the work in house so all of us became employees of company"A". Subsequently it was established that five of us were being paid less than the others for no apparent reason. I would like to know if anyone else has ever found themselves in this position and were they able to resolve the issue.

The way to resolve the issue is to demonstrate higher value to your employer and negotiate accordIngly. I’ve done this successfully in the past by pointing out how to improve a specific project/existing process, put the plans in place, demonstrated how much money and time is now being saved, and used that in my next performance review.

beauf

That only works in some places.

In other places you have to have leverage. For example get your self into a critical area or skill set, then start taking an interest in other departments and areas, that gives nice pressure when it comes to review, or interviews.

Strumms

In a job I worked in, they’d put you either on...

Base... 43,000

Midpoint... 45000

High point ... 47,000

...Of the grade.

It would be based on your experience...

There were some extras for a couple of extra skills and qualifications you accrued along the way.. so you could pull an extra couple of grand that way.

I should say it should be based on experience. The boss hired a little insincere lapdog directly onto the high point with the rest of us from another department. She was experienced in the company but spent half her time doing work and helping out her old department, basically an ass kisser. . . I’d need her to work on a project with me as scheduled to meet a deadline and she’s nowhere to be found apart from back in her old office with a mouthful of ass... “ahhhh but you know, it’s good to touch base and give them a dig out, they appreciate it”... yep I’d appreciate it if you get your ‘high point’ back here and finish this..

C3PO

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Why?

If you're a generalist manager with a team who have specific, in-demand skills, then they team members are likely worth more than you are.

First time I’ve ever agreed with Mrs OBumble!
Depending on the specialities of the team members it would not be that unusual for them to be paid more than their manager!

kathleen37

C3PO wrote: »

Depending on the specialities of the team members it would not be that unusual for them to be paid more than their manager!

Absolutely very common in IT