Do you feel appropriately paid for your work?

[shivawn]

Do you feel that your wages fairly reflect your skills and labour?

I'm just curious how people generally feel after chatting with my own colleagues a few days ago. They were complaining that we're underpaid and that they will struggle to live on these wages as they get older and want to start families etc. We're all nurses on a public payscale so on the same or similar pay (working in Ireland where nurses are better paid than in the UK). I felt really surprised as I consider myself well paid for doing a job that I love, probably more than many of my friends in other professions.

Are you happy with your wage in relation to what you contribute to your employer or do you think you're worth more?

@Freezeboy

My sister is a nurse started in london and her starting salary was around 28-30k, I had to work 6 years in the private sector to get upto that wage. Guess it depends on what you class as a good wage. There are some people who are well paid in the private and public sector and some people who aren’t. I don’t think the whole who has it worse helps anyone, the grass isn’t a always greener.

Were you in a comparable job role to your sister?

Given that jobs in my area now pay 20- 25k where 30 years ago it would have been 30 - 35k for less work and skills, nope.

Lots of things have caused it. I watched my wages erode as minimum wage crept up. Senior managers look after themselves, but those of us who work customer facing were ‘empowered’ to take on the responsibilities of the next level up for no extra, then that level was wiped out. That’s a familiar story in many sectors. Technology had its effect too. Anyone working in industries dealing with knowledge and information has watched all of that become completely devalued - yet it’s still needed. Many of us are paid the same as cleaners now. No disrespect to cleaners, my mum was one, but I didn’t spend all this time training and learning in the first place, and then getting all the hassle we have about needing to continuously develop, to be paid the same or less.

I’m a teacher. I’d take respect from the general public to help me do my job more effectively over a pay rise.

Love my job, even though its bloody hard work and can be very emotionally taxing.

Would I want to be paid more, of course. But I think overall my wage is fair.

Not this nonsense again. I heard it all the time when I still worked in the public sector.* Why do people persist in trotting it out? Do they genuinely believe it?*

You can't possibly declare this isn't true for everyone or make any sweeping statements as it is true for many roles, my sector is vastly better paid in the private sector, my job role in the private sector can be double and even, depending on the organisation, triple. I work in a technical role with specific qualifications, I could get up to the next grade internally which would narrow the gap slightly but the fact of the matter is my role is paid more privately (an area of compliance that is higher risk in the private sector and therefore worth more to them) I'm not moving into the private sector (yet) because I believe in the work I do for the CS, I'm aware the flexibility I have may not be afforded to me elsewhere, the pension alleviates any short term gripes, my job is protected by statute and also the more public sector experience I get the more I will be worth to the private sector or as a consultant

My DH could also earn more doing the job he does in the private sector, but not much more, the security he gets in his role vastly outweighs the pay gap (in my opinion, he doesn't agree!)

(Sorry bold fail on my post!)

No.

I work in the private sector, my single role is split into 4 peoples roles at our sister company and all 4 are paid between 5k & 10k more than I am (neither london based). I have more responsibility than any of them and their senior manager defers to me on joint projects or issues that will potentially impact on both sites.

I am applying for other roles. At an interview last week the company couldn't believe how poorly I was paid for the work I do.

But I have a job that has not been effected in a negative way by the pandemic, I have an ok-ish work life balance so I am a lot luckier than some.

Not this nonsense again. I heard it all the time when I still worked in the public sector. Why do people persist in trotting it out? Do they genuinely believe it?

It depends on the job. Most that require professional quals or particular experience command more in the private sector, or where there are a shortage. Certain IT roles for example, MCIPS qualified procurement professionals are 2 that spring to mind where it's absolutely true. I agree though that for many roles it's not, and the public sector does pay many a fair wage.

I work in the dispensary of a large chain of pharmacies. I feel underpaid and undervalued. The pharmacists at work feel that we (dispensers) are underpaid. I get paid the same wage as the girls working on the beauty counters.

*Local authority here, I feel I earn well, but in reality I could earn double or triple in the private sector.

^Not this nonsense again. I heard it all the time when I still worked in the public sector.

Why do people persist in trotting it out? Do they genuinely believe it?*^

Agree with other posters. I could charge £80-100 an hour for private work with my qualifications and skills. In the NHS I'm on the equivalent of £27 an hour to do the same.

This problem of needing respect or jobs having value other than remuneration is interesting and one we all need to think about in more detail.

It’s only well-off people with security nets who can afford to work for respect and non-financial rewards. The cost of living is going up, housing and security is an impossible dream for many given its cost relative to wages. Yet still we all cheerfully swallow this guff from the overpaid top-level media and finance people running our government that we should all be looking for non-financial rewards and do it for love, or in teachers’ cases, for the ‘nobility’ of teaching
So shoot me I’m not noble. I work for a living, I have no other means of making it, no family that will give me hand outs and legs up. I need work to pay.

My sector always expects voluntary work nowadays. These stupidities have smashed our economy to smithereens and turned us back to a Victorian age based on family links and land ownership, leaving people like me with neither with nothing for all the work we do.

Bold fail!

No, my pay is rubbish. I’m part-time but do absolutely loads of unpaid hours on my days off

It is a myth that the private sector pay more than the public sector. There is a debate about the gap but its clear that the average pay in the public sector is higher. There is a good article on it here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/55089900
I suspect the answer is that low skill jobs are better paid in the public sector. However high skilled jobs do not transfer easily. You cant take a doctor from the public sector and put him in a lawyers role

Were you in a comparable job role to your sister?

Morgoth Exactly the point of my question, not if people feel well paid but if they feel appropriately paid for the level of work that they do.

My husband and I both work in the public sector. He works in a very specialised field and is paid a pittance compared with what he could earn in the private sector. However, job satisfaction is important to him and he enjoys the fact that he is doing something that actually contributes to the public good in a very direct way. However, he does not have one of these gold plated pensions that the newspapers are so fond of talking about. In fact, his pension arrangements have been meddled with so many times over the years, and will probably continue to be meddled with, that he has no idea what he will actually be entitled to when retirement comes around. I know that with a private pension, you have no guarantees either, but the difference is that you enter into that arrangement fully in the knowledge that there are no guarantees. Whereas for generations people have been entering the public sector and being told 'yes, your salary is lower, but you have to factor in your pension when considering your salary' and then after 25 years they are suddenly told 'oh, actually, your pension isn't what we said it would be'. They can't travel back in time and take out a private pension to supplement their retirement income, that ship has sailed. So yes, public sector pensions are generally much better than private sector pensions but for people who are currently working, they are nowhere near what they were for people who are twenty or thirty years older, yet the newspapers would have the public believe that they are.

For my public sector job, I am paid a little bit less than I would get in the private sector, but it is more than made up for with training opportunities that I wouldn't get with a smaller private sector employer.

I also think people really overestimate the amazing ness of public sector pensions. They aren’t “gold-plated” for the vast majority and haven’t been for a long time. And the terms have changed rapidly. Most public sector pensions are only a hairline better than private sector pensions or almost identical. The good pension used to offset the low pay and bad working conditions in most cases but the pensions really aren’t that good for a lot of public sector roles anymore. And the ones that are will be the next thing the government will get their sticky fingers into.

Nope. Public sector in criminal justice agency. Its mindblowing to me how little we are paid for the role that we play. But, and it's a big but, I love the role. I get huge satisfaction out of it. My husbands wages far outstrip mine

Yes. The pension isn't as good now and you don't even get a tea bag provided.

I'm an accountant, it's very easy to compare public and private sector jobs and salaries. I know a lot of accountants, I've worked in both private sector and government. The pay difference is enormous.

Well no I'm not. I'm top of band 6 in the NHS, I have years of expertise and can deal with almost any emergency.
I was a band 8 for some years but then had a breakdown and decided to back down to a 6 in the tun up to retirement for my own sanity.
I did private work for a year - the salary is generally 5 times as much if you work hard but I hated it, it was boring and mind numbing kow towing to wealthy people, the jobs were never secure, you could just be sacked for no reason - usually because there wasn't enough work to go round that month.
I ran off back to the NHS asap, at least I am using all of my skills here and I love the work.

No

Work in forensic mh management

The NHS has a problem that it underpays many many staff and then you have a number of staff that do not pull their weight. It needs restructuring

@namechange2547

However, the public sector is absolutely terrible at recognising progression in role.

Are you civil service? I think it is absolutely criminal they have banned incremental progression it makes no logical sense, of course the longer you've been a job the more value you have, it makes me absolutely rage that the rest of the public sector has progression but not CS, I would take a cut in pension for the opportunity to progress in my salary scale. I'm applying for a higher grade and I've been told if successful to negotiate salary and that it's much more acceptable now than it used to be due to the fact it's the only point you can try to get more (except when trying to retain) I would usually always happily start at the bottom of the salary as it's usually a promotion and I'm new, but will be negotiating any future roles from now on. I don't understand how they've gotten away with it for so long especially when they advertise a role as being X-X.

Not CS but arm's length body that has to comply with some of the same rules as the CS.

I'm self employed now and try to only do work I enjoy. I have one semi-regular role I find a bit dull but it pays OK. The rest is work I find very satisfying. I think what I earn is good but as I only do what I can cope with (mental health issues) it doesn't add up to much.

I thought I was reasonably paid until I found out that all of my colleagues earn more than me.

For three years in a row, I’ve come out with the highest rating in terms of performance in the whole team & still I’m the lowest paid. I think it’s a bit of ageism as I am the youngest in the team, so they keep saying it’s down to experience.

Once I’m back after maternity leave, I’m either going to look for a better paid job or just not slog my guts out.