AIBU to want to think I've been low-balled on job offer?

[Chuckles33]

During job interview I was pressed to give a minimum expected salary figure, so being put on the spot I said AT LEAST £xx,000. I should point out that I'm relocating from London to Midlands for this job so this minimum figure is less than my current London salary, but I'm OK with the idea of a lower salary for better work/life balance out of London.

So, I got offered the job, but disappointingly they offered exactly £xx,000 and other aspects of the package were lower than my current package. However, the offer letter said the salary would be reviewed in April 2018. Since the letter was written in August, I assumed it was a typo that should have said 2019. OK, so the offer was a bit low but at least I could get a rise in April, right? So I accepted the offer on that basis.

I managed to negotiate a shorter notice period from my current employer so I could start the new job a couple of weeks earlier than was stated on the original offer letter. So new job HR said they had to reissue the offer letter and contract for me to sign again with the revised earlier start date. Here's the rub, without consulting me, they also corrected to salary review date typo, but changed it to April 2020 not 2019. I queried this but have been told I will indeed have to wait 17 months for a pay review. If I'd been able to start one month earlier I would have been eligible for a pay review in April 2019 and a prorated bonus for 2018, but now I don't get either.

I was already feeling foolish for accepting the original offer without trying to negotiate a bit more but now I'm having major regrets. Btw, this is a multinational corporation we're talking about.

So should I just accept this and start the new job feeling a little negative/resentful or do I speak up and say they need to do something to fix this?

Thanks for reading x

Speak up. You accepted the job on the basis of the original contract.

Say something! Th worst they can say is no, and then you’re no worse off

Definitely speak up.

Agree, they want you to work for them, you are obviously going to be an asset to their Company
Call them out on it

Definitely speak up now. Ask them for a higher salary now. So say they offered you £35 and you want £39, ask them for £41.

Definitely say something - you are in the strongest position now it will be harder once you start!

Definitely say something. Good luck OP.

Say something now!

The best pay rises usually come when moving jobs.

I would say something. Don't just accept it. You haven't agreed to the changes and they're cheeky trying to push it through.

yes, now is the time to bring it up!!

You don't want to work for a place that won't listen or for you to be afraid to speak up I assume. You will give many years service to this employer and to do that you have to be proactive now and air your grievance, in a civil constructive concise manner. If they are an employer that cares for the wellbeing of their staff then they will have no problem addressing this issue, but you can't expect them to read your mind you must communicate.

You were daft to accept the job on a lower salary than you wanted. If you said “at least xx” of course they’re going to offer you xx.

You can ‘speak up’ but you don’t have much to be outraged about tbh. You’re just at their goodwill now of when they want to renegotiate. All you have in your cards is threatening to leave.

Oh sorry, I’ve just seen you haven’t started yet.

You can ask for the renegotiation date to be changed. But be aware they could just treat this as a paper exercise and say ‘no’.

If I was you I’d try to link the renegotiation to performance in some clear way.

If they have changed the terms on offer (ie the pay review date) then you would not be unprofessional to want to renegotiate now. However they will have the upper hand in negotiations because they know you've already handed your notice in. I think its perfectly reasonable to speak to the hiring manager (This person will likely have more clout than HR) and say that you've been able to review your contract and have a concern about that review date as it wasn't in line with what had been understood previously.

Say something otherwise u will forever feel like you have been short changed.

I didn't and have regretted it!!

Say something now - very unprofessional to offer you a job based on one set of conditions, only to change them with no consultation.

Go back and say something. Tell them that you had accepted the offer of your minimum salary expectation of xx,000 on the basis of a review in April 2019 and if they are changing the review date to 2020 then you will need to start on a higher amount.

Deep breath.

This is not good enough. I think you need to go back and say the amount you actually want. April 2019 is too long to wait for a salad at review that you can’t rely on. Set the amount you want and take it now.

Speak up.

You've handed in your notice at the old job then?

I'd been able to start one month earlier I would have been eligible for a pay review in April 2019 and a prorated bonus for 2018, but now I don't get either.

^^
Shame new employer didn't write the date wrongly but a month earlier... And honour it!

However they will have the upper hand in negotiations because they know you've already handed your notice in.

^^

I thought this.

But would your old employer have you back, or you don't want to go? Not to say that you can't call the new employer's bluff on that point, of course

I think you need to say something now. An arbitrary change to a mutual agreement that's detrimental to you, isn't professional and you'd be reasonable to want to start negotiations again. Combined with a review that's no promise of a rise, I'd think seriously about whether I want to work for this firm at all. Sorry, but they've given you grounds for thinking you'd be better off looking elsewhere.

A very difficult decision, I know, especially when you've given in your notice, but it's a commercial decision, you already know you can't trust them.

No don’t accept it and if you think you’ve been low balled keep looking for another job and hold out for a better salary. Women are notoriously bad at negotiating for themselves, particularly with salaries, and is one of the reasons we have a pay gap. Be assertive, go back and say that if you aren’t getting a salary increase until 2020 you can’t accept the salary offered but will accept £XX. If they withdraw the offer could you pick up some temp work to tide you over until you find the right role?

What struck me after I'd gone to bed last night (this morning!), is that maybe the new company has changed its mind and actually wants you to restart negotiations so they can say they've changed their minds about recruiting anyone, without thinking, privately at least, that they've put egg on their own faces.

The CBI, Chambers of Commerce, etc, have regularly been reported as saying that their members are delaying or even cancelling investment and recruiting decisions until their situation is much better known after Brexit. With the crazy way this government has behaved over the last two years, no-one has any real idea of what situation we're going to be in, except that it will be bad.

Do you know if your current firm has started the process for recruiting your successor? Or talked to you about handover process?

If you can, it might be worthwhile cancelling any plans for, say, six to nine months, until you can get a clearer idea of the jobs landscape in your field.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I have sent an email this morning saying that their typo had a bearing on my decision to accept their borderline offer. I reiterated the point that this relocation is a big decision for me and my family and i want to be able to feel totally committed to it, so is there anything they can do to alleviate my concerns about them revising the terms of the offer. Will update when i hear back.