I feel I’m being bounced into a job without being offered the proper salary
I went freelance about a year ago and shortly afterwards got a part-time contract with a very large employer which went extremely well.
A few months ago I learned that a permanent position was going to be advertised with the team I work in. It originally looked as if it would be at a much more junior level than would interest me and I said no thanks. When the role was advertised, it turned out the top of the salary scale was actually something I’d consider. The full salary range had a difference of over £10,000 between the top and the bottom.
I applied and was offered the post, with comments that I had been the outstanding candidate. However when the offer was made, salary wasn’t mentioned. I asked what it was likely to be and the head of department said he wasn’t in a position to discuss salary, which had to be decided by HR.
I finally spoke to someone who could tell me about salary. At this point I was quoted the very lowest point on the scale. When I queried this they said it was an error and I would be offered slightly more. I asked whether my skills and experience would be taken into account and was told they had no option of shifting on salary unless to match what someone is being paid elsewhere.
I have never agreed in writing or verbally – and have stressed repeatedly that I need to know about salary before doing so – but everyone seems to be assuming it won’t be a problem.
I’m now in a difficult position. Had the actual position on salary been advertised, I wouldn’t have applied. But if I back out now I am letting down the team and the organisation. In this economy I am lucky to be offered any job at all and freelance work could dry up at any time. Several friends have said I’m spoiled and ungrateful even to consider backing out. Are they right? And can I be sued if I turn the job down?
Jeremy says
There’s no chance that you could be sued for turning this job down, so you can forget about that.
On the matter of salary, your employers would no doubt argue that they’ve been entirely open at all times. The job was advertised with a clear salary scale, so when you applied you were fully aware of the maximum and minimum rates on offer. And I presume you didn’t make your interest in the job conditional on your being offered a specific salary. In such circumstances, employers assume applicants have implicitly accepted the advertised range. Your company was not to know that you had set yourself a target, below which you would not have applied. So the first thing you need to do is rid yourself of any lingering sense of injustice. They may have been slow to reveal the salary they had in mind – and if I read your letter correctly, they still haven’t – but you haven’t been duped.
If you like the company, like the work and believe you have a future there – and if the salary they finally offer you seems reasonable – then you should certainly take it.
Readers say
• The point of the hiring process, from the firm’s perspective, is to get the best possible candidate for the lowest possible price, so don’t take it personally that they are low-balling you. You do, however, need to work out whether what you have been told is a negotiating tactic or a real set of constraints. Have a polite but frank chat with the hiring manager explaining your salary expectations and highlighting the value you would bring the firm. Don’t be afraid to walk away, because if they really do want you, they’ll stump up the cash more often than not. You must also be ready to consider the possibility that the position is, in fact, more junior than you would want, which would explain their stubbornness on the salary. styleguide
• They’ve made you an offer; now it’s your turn to make a counter-offer. QuentinStephens
I’m paying the price for taking five months off work to have a baby
I have been on a sponsored degree management trainee scheme with my company for the past three years.
In my first year I fell pregnant and took five months of maternity leave and missed one week of university to have my little girl. However, I completed the work needed and have passed the degree.
When I returned in May 2013 I was given no direction and just given adhoc work to do. In September 2013 everyone else on the scheme received a pay rise except me. I only got this in September 2014. The rest of the people on the scheme received another pay rise at this time. I spoke to the HR manager who had stopped my pay rise and she said I had hindered myself by being on maternity leave.
I finished the scheme in November and was told it was being extended by six months because they wanted to see more from me. No one else on the scheme has had this done to them and I feel it’s due to my maternity leave. The HR manager I have been working under has been told to set aside some time to talk through the issues. I’ve tried booking this time and had no response and now she’s not talking to me.
I need some advice as I feel I am being unfairly treated due to my maternity leave.
Jeremy says
I’m sure the HR manager was speaking the truth when she told you that your maternity leave had hindered your progress – but you mustn’t let this apparent act of discrimination provoke you. Your company may be behaving without much sensitivity but you would be wrong to believe that it is in some way punishing you.
The plain fact is that your schedule – unlike that of the others – has been disrupted and it is trying to find ways of making up for that disruption. Please try very hard to see that it’s the disruption that’s the issue – not the maternity leave that caused it.
When you finally get to see your HR manager, acknowledge that fact. I’m not suggesting you apologise for having a baby; just recognise that your absence has been inconvenient for others.
Management traineeships with inbuilt sponsored degree courses are rare and precious. You’ve done well to earn one.
Readers say
• The scheme may have been extended for you, not because of your maternity leave but because you were absent for five months, albeit due to maternity leave. They are giving you the opportunity to make up this missing time and are being fair. walkinginthesand
• The law is that you cannot be treated less well than other colleagues because of maternity leave. Sadly I don’t know a single woman whose life has not been made hell after maternity leave. I think the problem is that there is an assumption that men can have it all and no one bats an eye when they have children and a career, but only because it’s assumed they will get the other parent to do their share of the childcare. The more men who do their fair share and have to request flexi hours, the fewer women will be discriminated against. maryjane01
• Welcome to the club! Baby 1 – junior team member promoted over me. Baby 2 – made redundant. semreh
