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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have got a bigger payrise

36 replies

Willthisworknow · 29/03/2014 16:07

I got a 1.28% payrise and 17.75% bonus! I am really fuming as I really need the money in my take home pay. We had redundancies last year and I had to take on extra work and responsibilities ie a team of line reports. We had to make a gross margin of 30% which we smashes. This is the least I ever got and my pay rise last year when on mat leave was 2.25% and I was off for 9 months of that year. I've really pushed myself, did over and above, I am one of the main contributors to the dept . My line reports even got more in relative terms but just cos my salary is more, they seem to think its acceptable to give me a lower percentage. The truth is my manager does not really appear to be pushing management for me because I am applying for jobs as we speak. When I asked head of dept all she could say was that the pay rises were less and the money that should have gone into the merit was given as a bonus instead. But I got less than the recommended pay band for my appraisal rating which was 1.5 to 2.5%. How can I challenge professionally to say I'm worth more? The head of dept said they not set the budgets but I believe they will pay you more if they think you are worth it.

OP posts:
ILoveOnionRings · 29/03/2014 16:11

Have you posted this before or have I got confused?

Allergictoironing · 29/03/2014 16:14

You may not get much sympathy here bearing in mind that loads of companies have cut bonuses completely (and many never did them), and plenty of people haven't had any pay rise at all for 3-4 years.

ilovesooty · 29/03/2014 16:15

We had redundancies last year and I had to take on extra work and responsibilities

And you think this is unusual?

Comeatmefam · 29/03/2014 16:15

'The pay rises were less'...does she mean across the board that pay increases are down percentage wise?

What do you mean you are applying for jobs?

Does everyone that reaches targets get bonuses?

Is there always an inflationary (or similar) pay rise for all staff?

What were you personally guaranteed or lead to believe you were working towards?

LadyKooKoo · 29/03/2014 16:17

I think you need to get a grip and a reality check!

noblegiraffe · 29/03/2014 16:17

If you got less than the recommended pay rise then that suggests you are working below expectations, but a bonus suggests you are working above expectations. Have you queried this discrepancy?

littlemefi · 29/03/2014 16:23

YABU, I'm a nurse getting a 1% payrise this year.
However, now being told that our half hour break on a 12 hr shift ( which is currently paid) is now not going to be paid so we all need to work an extra 6 hrs a month for nothing!

PurplePotato · 29/03/2014 16:26

I'm in a similar position - have taken on an entire team, had great appraisals, working overtime for no extra pay and so on, and I've have had a similiar pay rise to you but without the bonus. It's the first payrise we've had in six years, and I work for a huge international company.

In our company it would seem the only way to get a decent salary increase is to move jobs. Depressing, but true. I guess it depends what field you're in and what demand/supply is like. If you're applying for jobs now then hopefully you'll find out very soon. Good luck!

LongWayRound · 29/03/2014 16:26

If your company assesses pay rises in the light of salaries for jobs similar to yours in other companies, they may have decided that you are already earning close to the maximum for your job: in which case they may not be able to give you a bigger payrise, but are giving you a higher bonus instead. I had this (working in a multinational company with quite strict guidelines about pay increases) in the couple of years before I retired: my salary was already in the top quarter for the job I was doing, so I wasn't entitled to a high percentage increase, but because they were happy with my performance they gave me a high bonus. I could see that the biggest increases were going to good performers,fairly recent recruits, whose salaries were in the low band for their jobs, so it didn't bother me. Maybe your company has something similar?

insancerre · 29/03/2014 16:31

17.5% bonus?
and you are complaining?
and you got a payrise?
it might not have been the biggest payrise but at least you got one
maybe the payrise money went on the redundancy paid last year, you know, to those people who lost their jobs

juneybean · 29/03/2014 16:33

What's a payrise?

SnookyPooky · 29/03/2014 16:40

Yes, what is a payrise? I got half a month's salary as a bonus at Xmas tho, €450. Woooooo.

saltlakecity · 29/03/2014 16:44

Utterly selfish. Have you even considered the feelings of the people who got made redundant before you moaned about your payrise and bonus? Be glad you got something.

DuckworthLewis · 29/03/2014 16:45

Ah, you're forgetting the golden rule of Mumsnet:

Some other people are having a shit time. Therefore so should you.

Nomama · 29/03/2014 16:50

Congratulations OP.

But you should probably look long and hard before you leap. You may find that you move from bad to worse. In the current climate (not knowing what industry you are in) you are possibly in the minority with regular pay rises and a bonus.

And yes VU to post here expecting not to get hoisted. Most of us are struggling with a 5th or 6th year of no pay rise and never ever a bonus.

Minshu · 29/03/2014 16:53

Pay has been frozen at my place regardless of individual performance or additional levels of responsibility, but there was a HUGE bonus pot this year. This is because there will be a lot of redundancies coming up, and so they want to keep those costs to a minimum. It's sad but probably quite common. Not trying to say everyone should have a crap time, just trying to let OP that she's not alone Hmm

ilovesooty · 29/03/2014 19:26

My manager got promoted and wasn't replaced. Another manager has had his responsibilities added to hers. As a result I've had to take on team leadership of my project for no extra pay. I'm currently taking a break from writing next year's contract profile. It involves demonstrating how I'm going to meet my current targets when I go part time next week as I've been offered another part time job elsewhere. Three days work and five days production. After two rounds of rredundancies and no pay rise for four years we count ourselves lucky still to be employed.

redexpat · 29/03/2014 19:43

You won't get much sympathy on MN as a lot of people have only had pay freezes.

You feel unappreciated, You feel that your efforts aren't rewarded. But 17.5% bonus sounds quite large to me, but I don't know what industry you're in, or what the norm is. But getting less than the recommended for your band isn't on, and women get paid less on average than men, so you need to argue for it. But why does your line manager know that you're appplying for other jobs? Because I think you have shot yourself in the foot there. They dont really have to pay you much becasue you're going anyway, and if you dont go, then they've got a great worker and saved themselves some money.

livingatheendofthewall · 29/03/2014 22:45

Boo fucking hoo

wheresthelight · 29/03/2014 23:57

Congratulations and if you think you should have got more then ask them for their breakdown on it and why it wasn't more

But as someone whose company hasn't given a payrise in 6 years you are being very ungrateful and unreasonable

galletti · 30/03/2014 02:35

Yes YABU. You are very lucky in this present climate to have a stable job with a pay rise, never mind the bonus.

Monty27 · 30/03/2014 02:41

OP your post is too complicated for me to understand Grin

If you feel undervalued just take them to task and stand up for yourself.

HungryHorace · 30/03/2014 06:10

Bank the bonus, then fine yourself x amount per month to top up your salary.

And stop whinging; you're lucky.

I feel lucky that I had a 5% rise written into my contract for this year only. I would probably have had nothing otherwise, and definitely won't get anything next year.

HungryHorace · 30/03/2014 06:10

Give, not fine. Autocorrect madness.

spidey66 · 30/03/2014 06:28

I got a 1% payrise and no bonus. Count yourself lucky.