Problems at work? Need advice? Our agony uncle ? and you, the readers ? have the answers
My company is paying a newbie more than me to do the same job
I have been in my job for about three years, working for a company that is currently making a profit. Recently it has taken on another person in the same role, but is paying him �3,000 more than me. This new starter has no experience in the role and I have to do some of his training. I have spoken with the department head who advised me that fairness doesn't come into it; he says to get a pay rise I have to demonstrate business change as a result of my ideas.
How can I put my case forward to demonstrate how my current role benefits the business?
Jeremy says
I imagine your department head is also the budget holder. Irrespective of your company's profitability, he will be under constant pressure to deliver more for less. He's only recently discovered that to take on someone from outside in a role such as yours he has had to offer them much more money. He had no choice; it was a necessity.
In brutal contrast, he doesn't see a pay rise for you as a necessity. He may have convinced himself that, in order to qualify for one, you need to demonstrate some measurable increase in your personal contribution ? but my guess is that he's simply using this argument to appear rational. He must know, as you do, that it's an almost impossible case to make.
Consciously or not, he believes he can safely rely on you to hang on in there ? so why should he raid his beleaguered budget when he doesn't absolutely have to? It's not "fair" but it is all-too-familiar and it leads to many inequities. Newcomers earn more than the older hands; loyalty, far from being rewarded, seems to be penalised.
Underlying a great many employer/employee relationships rests an unspoken competitive tension: who needs the other more? In times such as these, the balance of power inevitably tends to favour the employer. Even so, I urge you not to underestimate the strength of your position.
I believe you'll be more fairly rewarded only when your department head comes to terms with the real possibility that he might have to replace you; with all the attendant hassle and cost. He's not going to admit it to you, but at the moment you're a bargain.
I'm not suggesting empty threats. With luck, you should never even have to raise the subject overtly. But you must do everything you can to check out alternative jobs and pay scales in other companies. You'll almost certainly find grounds for some optimism; and that in itself will have an immediate (and probably noticeable) effect on your demeanour. The next time you have a conversation with your department head, don't let yourself be diverted by talk of proof of worth. Just make the point that you've researched the market and that you've now confirmed that the job you do commands more than you're currently getting.
For your confidence to be truly compelling, however, you must be prepared to follow through if necessary. Bluff can be easily called, to humiliating effect.
Readers say
? Sadly, a lot of employers do this. They pay what they have to pay to get new staff, but leave existing staff on less money. For some, this is actually company policy. Sometimes you have to move to another company and move back to get up the pay ladder again if you want to remain with a firm long term. This makes no sense at all from the company's point of view, but it is unlikely to listen to that argument. Ortho
? During my time at [a high street bank] I had a similar situation, a member of staff came in with no experience on a significant amount more. I did what some online readers have suggested and spoke first to my line manager, then HR, with a full business case as to why I should be earning more. They adjusted my salary accordingly.
Of course they then made my life a living hell, giving me one crap job after another, so I relished the moment in November when I handed in my notice and moved to a much better job on much higher wages. The new starter also went off on maternity within five months of starting there too. Simian
? This happened to me recently where I was the hiring manager, and my own HR department gave me a rate card (showing broad market rates for the level at which I was hiring). My salary was towards the lower end of this range. This led to negotiation with my management and I got a modest pay rise at the end of the year, which went some way to addressing this.
Find out your market rate and set up a conversation with your management. Do not be aggressive or self-indulgent, but do encourage a review based on market rates (you can use the example of the new hire but do not dwell on this). The world does not owe you a living, so be realistic. Good luck! southlondonspur
How can I stop this customer being such a nuisance?
A couple of years ago I was made redundant from a job with a large internet-based company. Since then I have developed my interest in computer hardware into a steadily successful PC repair business operating out of an internet cafe. For the most part I enjoy the customer contact, but I have an important client who is increasingly becoming a nuisance.
He has spent a lot of money in my shop since I opened, but during that time he has developed a habit of coming to the back of the shop and just sitting there. Sometimes he will talk to me, while at other times he will just sit and watch me work. When he does talk he is a serious distraction, but when he just sits and watches it becomes a little unnerving ? for me as well as for the other two staff who work for me.
At first it wasn't much of an issue, but I now realise I should have taken a firmer stance on preventing him from doing this much sooner. I am not a naturally confrontational person and would be badly hit if he took his business elsewhere ? but I need him out of my space when I'm working.
Jeremy says
Certainly not an easy one. As I'm sure you have too, I flirted with and then discarded a great many small deceptions that might have had the desired effect while saving this customer's feelings: something to do with insurance cover, perhaps, or the insistence of that over-zealous lot at health and safety. In the end, I came to the conclusion that none was particularly convincing and that a transparent ruse was likely to be even more hurtful than the bald truth. So my best suggestion is based on what I suspect is the truth and demands only a little embellishment of the facts.
From limited personal experience of PC repair, I know at least two things. Owners of PCs that have crashed or have begun to malfunction are full of fear and apprehension: it's terrifyingly important to us that all material is retrieved and the PC returned to reliability.
And, second, I know that computer repair people, like the most skilled and experienced of surgeons, can inadvertently do more harm than good.
I suggest, therefore, that you enlist those two members of your staff in a benign conspiracy. And then have a word with your intrusive customer.
Tell him that a lot of the repair work you do is extremely delicate stuff: one slip and the whole computer's ruined for ever. You've recently experienced such a disaster: one of your people claims to have been fatally distracted by an outsider's presence in the workshop and the computer's owner was distraught. Admit that you, too, have occasionally felt a bit the same. Use the analogy of an operating theatre. Absolute concentration is essential. So would he be considerate enough, from now on ??
That should be enough to achieve the desired result. If it doesn't, I fear you'll have to risk being rather more authoritative.
Readers say
? The client is obviously needy and maybe lonely. Your workplace is informal. They do not mean to be "creepy" but probably think they are being friendly.
You can introduce a little more formality into the setting, possibly with a counter, no chairs, and a health and safety notice. In my experience, however, very needy people may continue to try to maintain contact even from the other side of the counter. A door with a glass window so you see into the cafe if you need to would probably work best as they would be unable to talk to you through it.
I am afraid this man is probably giving you his business partly because he does want the friendly contact you provide and will take it elsewhere if you cease to play ball. It's up to you. You could give him some time each day ? perhaps come out and speak to him for 10 minutes when he comes in and therefore continue to confer the special status on him. But break off with: "Sorry, got to get back to work now, rushed off our feet again," and retreat behind your door. This would give clear signals of both friendless and the boundaries to it. Clare1888
For Jeremy Bullmore's advice on a work issue, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@guardian.co.uk. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or reply personally.
Read next week's problems on the Money blog from Monday and post your advice ? we'll run the best of it alongside Jeremy's in next Saturday's column.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/mar/26/dear-jeremy-work-advice
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