Offered job with lower pay

[eggcellent]

So I applied for a job that was advertised at £22,000, interviewed on Wednesday and got an email today to say that they'd like to offer me the job, but as I don't have a lot of experience they want to start me at a slightly lower level, for which the salary would be £19,000. I don't really want the job if it's £19,000, I have some other interviews coming up that are more than that. Is there a way to politely phrase that, and say that if it's not the £22,000 as advertised then I'm not interested? Or should I just email back and decline the job? I do want to work there, but not for 3 grand less than advertised.

If they have adevertised it at 22 and have offered you the job, they should be paying 22. You should negotiate and ask for what you want. They are being really cheeky trying to get you for less. I have always negotiated any offer up, for them to try to negotiate down is rubbish and smacks of trying it on.

I agree with cheeky redhead but that’s not your problem! They advertised it as 22k and you met the requirements.
I’d just phone them and say you’re not able to accept the current offer, you would be able to accept it if it was the 22k advertised. They can then think about it and get back to you. Don’t worry about feeling uncomfortable, use it as salary negotiation training for the rest of your life!! Seriously, so many women accept the salary offered, ALL the men I know ask for at least 5k more!
Good luck!

I’d say you have far more chance of getting 22K out of them now than if you accept the job at 19K and then try to negotiate.

I really encourage you to be brave and negotiate. My recent experience was very different because it was a reorganisation rather than new job, but they offered me a salary 20% below my current salary, and I just said I was very pleased that they felt I was the right person for the job, but I wasn't able to accept it for anything less than my current salary. 24hrs or agony waiting and they came back with the offer I wanted. I could have got uppity about them trying it on (they clearly were) but I got what I wanted and I'm enjoying the job. More importantly I'm not worried about losing their respect. Good luck OP!

One of the reasons for the gender gap in the first place is that women tend to be less aggressive in salary negotiations. Not necessarily down to prejudice but all employers will normally pay the lowest they can get away with. Just insist on the 22k and don’t budge. They’ve already chosen you and obviously budgeted for it if they advertised the wage. It really is that simple and they’ll actually respect you a lot more if you do play hardball

It seems it is a bit of a myth that the pay gap is partly due to women not asking for more. Rather, they do ask but don't get. ideas.repec.org/p/wrk/warwec/1127.html it is probably not relevant here but as a pay gap myth, it is a bit of a victim blaming one.

I think it is naive to try to decouple it from the gender pay gap totally.

If the organisation has published their information and either does not have a huge pay gap or has a very logical explanation for such a pay gap then perhaps it is fine; but if the organisation shows they pay women at this level or all levels a bit less then men I though think it would be relevant to know in this instance. Given they should have legally published the info if they are a big enough organisation then it is no big deal to inform oneself.

If the job is advertised at 22k and the op fulfils the requirements enough to be offered the role then it should be for the 22k.

Bloody cheeky of them to try and undercut you.

My husband’s old company used to do this. Terrible pay policy actually. Eg. One time, there were 4 jobs at £37k that he wanted to apply for. He was on £25k. They had a policy where you couldn’t go up more than 10%, no matter what the advertised salary was! Had he got that job, potentially he (with 2 years experience) could have been doing it for £27.5k whilst 3 external people got £9.5k more

He left shortly after and got a better paid job in the NHS where the pay is extremely transparent.

Seriously OP, if they are like this now, in my opinion it will only get worse.

If be wary of starting work with a company who are already putting the squeeze on you. I freelanced for a firm for six months, with the promise that there would be a permanent job for X amount at the end of it, which was about in line with my hourly rate. However, once the time was up they tried to knock off 5k, with some complicated bonus scheme and vague promises of reviews in the future. They were extremely tight and unpleasant to work for in general, so the pay issues went hand in hand really. I swore to always value my work in future.

Any idea what the company is like to work for? Any reviews on Glassdoor?

Tell them you can't afford the cut in pay to move down to £19K.

It's straightforward since you have no intention of taking it at £3k less than advertised anyway - you just politely say thank you but you won't be accepting the position. You don't have to apologise or explain. Their loss. Good luck with your other interviews.

If you're still interested in the job, I would see this as the start of negotiations. If they've offered you £19k, then it doesn't seem likely you'll get £22K, but you might be able to push them up a bit. I would set yourself a minimum level, and be prepared to walk away if they don't reach that.

I'd send back an email saying something like:

Dear xxxxx

Thank you for your offer for X job. The salary advertised for this role was £22k, and a lower salary was not discussed at interview. I am very interested in this role and would like to come and work for your company, but would only be able to accept your job offer at the advertised salary of £22k. I think I justify this salary because of X,Y,Z.

Kind Regards
XXXX

And see what they come back with. It may be that they've gone for you because they think they can get you cheaply, in which case they might say £19k is their final offer, and you need to be prepared to walk away. Otherwise, if you were clearly the strongest candidate and they are just pushing their luck, they will probably make a counter offer.

Personally, if it's a job you want, I wouldn't walk away without at least trying to negotiate!