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Original poster

What would you do in this work situation?

21 replies

DemotedDemotivated · 07/02/2021 18:04

I started a new job halfway through last year. I did have my own business very briefly but covid knocked that on the head so I really needed a job.

I am mid 40s and have worked almost my whole career in the same industry. I've had senior roles and earned a decent wage.

The job I took was more junior than any role I have had in recent history. It also pays over 20% less than my previous jobs. The salary is at the lowest end of what's normal for this kind of role. The salary isn't lower because of Covid. Also, I know what the company finances are and it isn't the case there isn't money there to pay more. The job is full time.

Of course, I have worked remotely the whole time I have been in the role which has presented its own isssues.

I accepted the job at that level and on that pay because it was a job and I needed one, and I felt being less senior would be beneficial in the middle of a pandemic for a single mum with DC in primary school.

But my boss seems to think he should be benefiting from my years of experience and of working at a senior level without actually paying the going rate for it. I'm now home schooling DC, of course, but being expected to play a senior part in the business and being criticised for not delivering.

I would like to kindly tell my boss where to go. I am working hard but I am not Wonder Woman and I'm not being paid to be either. No point asking for a pay rise as circumstances mean I can't over deliver so there would be no justification as far as he is concerned.

Leaving isn't an option. I'm trying to just suck it up but am feeling resentful that I'm being put in this position.

Any wise words?

OP posts:

Gazelda · 07/02/2021 18:08

Do you have a role description? Are the extras being asked of you on top of the tasks you fulfil during your contracted hours? Is there capacity in terms of time for you to do the extras he's asking?
When are you next scheduled an appraisal?

Porridgeoat · 07/02/2021 18:14

Can you tell him that your concerned that you are being asked to do more then your grade of work and although you enjoy your job, you don’t plan to go up a level and don’t want the responsibility.

firstbabyworries · 07/02/2021 18:15

Yes I would also review the job description of when you took the role. Ensure you are fulfilling all those obligations and ask what more does he want(maybe not like that!) if he wants you to do more then he needs to review your job role and pay.
Employers want something for nothing and it's not fair. Totally get doing 100% but trying to get you to do extra with no benefit for yourself is a no no. Sounds selfish but it's more about standing up for yourself and you can do that in a really professional way, you got this!

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Original poster

DemotedDemotivated · 07/02/2021 18:15

I do have a description but it's vague enough to cover both what I had expected from the role and what he expects me to do.

OP posts:

Original poster

DemotedDemotivated · 07/02/2021 18:19

It is exactly about being expected to do more with no benefit to myself. There are other ways this manifests itself in the company generally.

What I'm really annoyed about is that he wouldn't have done this to a man and a man wouldn't have been stupid enough to put himself in this position either. I don't want to be in a fight to keep my job in the middle of this covid crap. I am doing a good job. I just can't go above and beyond.

OP posts:

TillyTopper · 07/02/2021 18:20

Personally I think It'd try and stick it whilst you are home schooling DC and don'g say anything - but get another role. My reason for this is that they probably won't change anyway, even if you say something.

happytoday73 · 07/02/2021 18:29

"What am I not delivering? I'm doing the best I can while obviously home schooling... What would you like me to prioritise as I'm not wonder woman..."
... But then I'm known for being blunt (but fair)

You have my sympathy.. I took a step down to allow better family/work balance while kids were young..its hard working under your level.. My bosses were great till I got one that forgot I'm a competent professional with a job to do so micromanaged & wanted me to do her printing for her and sort out her diary... Then wondered why I left... And she was exposed as inadequate as had used my work as her own..

Tiktaktoe · 08/02/2021 08:58

You need to meet with your boss and explain that you were applied and got for a job at x level because you didn't want the extra commitments a higher level position brought.
If he wants someone to function at a higher level he needs to recruit for that position.
Lay your cards out professionally but firmly.

Tiktaktoe · 08/02/2021 08:59

And don't bring homeschooling into the conversation. Your reasons for wanting a role below your expertise level are none of his business.

imonyourway · 08/02/2021 10:00

From your bosses point of view, he has managed to hire someone with years of experience at less than the going rate. During the hours you work for him, he expects you to bring that expertise to the table.
I'm not sure how you get round that - you can't just 'de skill' for this job.

Original poster

DemotedDemotivated · 08/02/2021 10:45

I don't agree imonyourway. I may bring my expertise to the table and I will use it to help the business wherever I can but to expect me to deliver work beyond my pay grade isn't fair. You can't pay McDonald's prices and expect a fine dining experience.

OP posts:

dragonsmoke · 08/02/2021 10:52

Can you point to someone in the organisation who is doing the work at the same level as the senior responsibilities expected of you? They dont have to be in the same team (although easier to compare if they are)

You should compare on things like level of judgement required, people manager responsibilities, autonomy of work and decision making authority.

Then raise your concerns with your boss that you are operating at that same level and would like to do a salary comparison if you are expected to continue.

Stompythedinosaur · 08/02/2021 10:53

It's hard to say without knowing what you are being asked to do. You shouldn't be asked to do more hours than you are paid for or to hold more responsibility than is in your job description. I think it is fine to ask you to work to the best of your ability though in the hours you are employed, though.

Eckhart · 08/02/2021 10:59

If you're being asked to do something that's covered by your job description, and uses your skills, you don't really have a leg to stand on. They will have assessed your skills at interview. If you didn't want to be required to use them, you shouldn't have mentioned them.

I think you're just feeling bitter that you're not getting paid more, now that you're out of the emergency of 'needing a job'.

Tiktaktoe · 08/02/2021 11:13

@Eckhart by your reckoning a person who is a qualified accountant but has taken a job as a book keeper should operate as a fulluly qualified accountant and take on that work just because the boss wants her to?
The OP took the role because it offered a base scale with low levels of responsibility and stress. Now she is being asked to take on a higher role with all the added stress and responsibilities with no extra pay?

Eckhart · 08/02/2021 11:24

I understand what OP said, thanks, @Tiktaktoe

What is the JD for? If it covers what OP is being asked to do, what leg do you think she does have, to stand on?

A book keeper's JD would define the role and responsibilities of a bookkeeper, not an accountant, and vice versa.

OP is essentially saying 'This isn't what I signed up for', but if her JD covers it, it is what she signed up for. If the JD is not clear, then OP and the employer are equally at fault for not insisting on clarity at the point when she took the role.

Tiktaktoe · 08/02/2021 11:41

No, I think it is disingenuous to assume that just because the job description is vague that two completely different levels of a job are the same.
If a manager was asked to manage a team and then presented with managing the entire organisation for the same pay (as the organisation is also a 'team') it would rightly be called out as bollox.

Original poster

DemotedDemotivated · 08/02/2021 11:58

People forget that a lot of businesses don't work like the public sector or big corporates.

The company is small. There is no one else doing the same job. Interviews in my line of work assess skills and experience but in over 20 years of being interviewed and recruiting myself, I've never come across a proper, rigorous scoring system and don't know anyone who has. It's not the way recruitment works in this sector. It's all based on CVs and never application forms.

The job isn't exactly junior but I was told they didn't need someone working at the level I've previously worked at when I interviewed. That suited me. The boss (owner) is ambitious for the company. I understand that but I don't want to be assessed based on what I'm capable of delivering rather than what I'm paid to deliver.

To be honest, in other times I would be over delivering and running myself into the ground for no additional benefit to myself as that's my history but being older and wiser and not being able to conjure up extra hours in the day in the midst of everything else that's going on has given me a new perspective.

OP posts:

LoisLanyard · 08/02/2021 13:00

I have been in a similar position - not during Covid times though, I should add. In the end I found it too frustrating and I left for another job - as hard as it is, you have to be firm and tell the boss your concerns. It sounds like they wouldn't get rid of you in a hurry, so chances are they aren't going to fire you. In my industry, we don't have tightly defined JD, but there is an understanding of the responsibilities at different role levels. If i employed someone to do x job, but it turned out they were great at x+2, I would encourage them to do x+2, but it would be a conversation and not an assumption that they would do it.

Eckhart · 08/02/2021 15:25

@Tiktaktoe

No, I think it is disingenuous to assume that just because the job description is vague that two completely different levels of a job are the same. If a manager was asked to manage a team and then presented with managing the entire organisation for the same pay (as the organisation is also a 'team') it would rightly be called out as bollox.

If a JD is vague, you shouldn't sign up until it's been clarified. They should have details on them of what the responsibilities are, and the limits of those responsibilities. I would doubt the ability of a company to manage people, if all their JD's didn't include this.

If a manager was employed to manage a particular team, it would need to be specified on their JD which team, in order to avoid exactly the scenario you present. This is what JD's are for.

It's disingenuous to assume that an employer will say, 'Oh yeah, sorry, that was our mistake' when they ask an employee to do something that's included in their JD.

OP has made a mistake in accepting a job without clearly defined boundaries. The organisation has made a good choice or a bad choice in employing OP - it depends on whether she decides to leave over this or not. But if she does, it'll be her decision, and not based on any specific wrongdoing by the organisation regarding her JD.

tommika · 08/02/2021 16:36

@DemotedDemotivated

People forget that a lot of businesses don't work like the public sector or big corporates.

^ but I was told they didn't need someone working at the level I've previously worked at when I interviewed. ^

You happily accepted on the basis of the job description and the level of pay for the ‘level’ of work expected.

The value added element of your experience is a bonus.
You can have a word about your rate of pay - you work to the level you were employed at and are paid for, or up your game and get paid a higher rate.

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