pay, compensation, renumeration policy

RaggleGumn

Hi all,

I have been in my current role for 5 years, and was informed at the beginning that every new employee starts at point one of the pay scale. Recently a new employee has started and has entered at a higher point than I am currently at.
I politely, professionally, and formally requested a review of my salary which led to a thanks for your work but sorry it's company philosophy not to negotiate individual salary reviews, salaries are dependent on your contract... I thanked them for their reply and sought clarification on the companies policy as regards salary reviews, salary bench marking, renegotiation of a contract, and the understanding that all new employees start at point one of the salary scale. Basically I wanted to know if they were guided by any policies and procedures when it came to pay. The company has not answered (i should say ignored) my specific queries.

Do companies need to have a set of policies and procedures for employee remuneration?
Are employees bound by their initial contract terms for their length of service? i.e. no reviews, no renegotiation.


Any help would be much appreciated

Assuming it’s private sector, as long as it’s above minimum wage an employer can pay what they want to a new hire.

Sounds like the new hire negotiated a better contract, if your employer refuses to increase your wage, your only option is to test the market or accept what your contract says you are entitled to.

berocca2016

RaggleGumn wrote: »

Hi all,

I have been in my current role for 5 years, and was informed at the beginning that every new employee starts at point one of the pay scale. Recently a new employee has started and has entered at a higher point than I am currently at.
I politely, professionally, and formally requested a review of my salary which led to a thanks for your work but sorry it's company philosophy not to negotiate individual salary reviews, salaries are dependent on your contract... I thanked them for their reply and sought clarification on the companies policy as regards salary reviews, salary bench marking, renegotiation of a contract, and the understanding that all new employees start at point one of the salary scale. Basically I wanted to know if they were guided by any policies and procedures when it came to pay. The company has not answered (i should say ignored) my specific queries.

Do companies need to have a set of policies and procedures for employee remuneration?
Are companies entitled to pay whatever people agree to on signing their initial contract?


Any help would be much appreciated

Employers only need to generally have renumeration policies for regulated roles i.e certain roles regulated by the Central Bank for example. Good practice to have them otherwise but not an obligation.

But basically, you and your employer both signed your contract, employer does not have to pay you more than that. If you want a pay rise go get an offer from external and hope your employer will counter it.

RaggleGumn

Thanks for your replies.

@dav010 The new hire certainly did negotiate a better contract, and fair play to them.

@berocca2016 we work in the charity sector and the company prides itself on equality, promoting the rights of the vulnerable etc. I had hoped they were interested in best practice but alas no.

again thanks for your replies

thefa

Is this person in the exact same role and brings no additional qualifications or experience to the table?

It’s possible in the space of 5 years that the market has gone above the pay scale you signed up for. As others have said, be prepared to go elsewhere.

RaggleGumn

It's the same role, same base qualification but I have added qualifications tailored to the job and ten years more experience.
I have interviews scheduled, and will see how things turn out.

notharrypotter

Charity sector with a salary scale.

Not enough detail and I suspect it's a bit more complex as things usually are.

It's possible that the new hire has previous recognised service which resulted in the skipping of several points.

Mrs OBumble

RaggleGumn wrote: »

@berocca2016 we work in the charity sector and the company prides itself on equality, promoting the rights of the vulnerable etc.

Such companies are usually the worse in terms of how they treat employees.

You're supposed to be there for the honour of serving the clients, in their eyes.

C3PO

OP - it strikes me that your employer is sending you a very clear message ... I’d be actively seeking a new role.

New employees can negotiate a bit harder OP if the right skills are in short supply. I think I'd look about how a new job if you really want to push on.


Don't mind the whole company priding itself on protecting the vulnerable and all that stuff, they will have accountants and managers watching the bottom line and that will take priority.

jimmycrackcorm

I change jobs every few years because it's much easier to get a pay rise that way than go through a salary review.

Kalimah

Not surprised to hear it's the charity sector. Similar experience here. I posted last year about my own experience asking for a pay review. I was asked to compose a business plan which I did, and despite asking several times over the subsequent months I got no answers, until the week before Christmas, when they told me a flat out no, that the role had been bench-marked (first I''d heard of it) and that the salary was the industry norm. Actually it wasn't, and I had comparisons to back that up.

I left in the new year, and since I have been gone my supervisor has been upgraded to a managerial role and title where none existed before ( no interviews or ads internally/externally for the job) so it seems to me if you get in well with the bigwigs all bets are off.

Iguarantee

Firstly, I can see how a situation like this would cause you some displeasure.

Personally, I don't care what my colleagues are paid (as long as I'm paid more than them).

Negotiate your own package on your own terms, or as close as you can get. Whatever others negotiate is their doing and their responsibility.

I work as a contractor (typically 12-month terms) and I view every negotiation as being a one-on-one between me and the company. I also view it in a vacuum i.e. it's negotiating for the next 12 months only and not beyond it. I find that helps me manage my expectations and theirs too. I happen to know I'm earning approximately twice what some of my colleagues earn, despite having the same job title and virtually identical roles. That is because of my skills and how I present them. I'm confident I have colleagues on better rates than I'm on, by virtue of niche skills or just a better outcome from their own negotiation.

Some companies throw about "salary bracket" notions but in reality they like to pay what they want to who they want. I have no issue with this because I've always looked out for myself and (as far as I'm aware) I've always been at or near the top of any brackets they have in place.

My approach wouldn't be to go looking for your current company company to make this right or be more equitable. I'd chalk it down as a lesson learned and use it as leverage for your next salary review. If the skills and experience you have are worth more money to you then present your case to your current employer or another employer in order to get what you want.

Timistry

I had a very similar situation lately. I Noted during my last review a month ago ( on workday) that the salary range had been increased for my role, I went to my manager and pointed out that my salary had not been adjusted accordingly and I was on the bottom 5% of the scale, essentially graduate level again. They came back this week and gave me a substantial increase