… to be a bit miffed to find out new coworker is earning more?

[Randomname85]

I’ve been the sole EA at a company for a few years - we’ve hired a new EA, I’ve been heavily involved in the hiring process. She will be supporting less senior people (I am not hierarchical at all but just for info), but I’ve just noticed her starting salary is £12k more than me - I can’t help feel a little undervalued by this especially considering I got my annual feedback at the end of last year and it was glowing.

AIBU?

EA salaries have shot up considerably this past year

You need to ask for the same pay. Or get that cv done and start looking. The time is now

OP, if you leave, they will need to
Re-hire at a higher salary. Thats the market now.

They will expecting you to ask the question.

Its a simple case of don't ask, don't get.

OP. If you don't ask you don't get!

TWELVE?!?!

I’d be mortified if two team members doing the same role had such a gap.

My own (male) manager often mentions that women are “too agreeable” when it comes to salary. Stop being agreeable!

@Aubriella

makes me wonder if my motives wouldn’t be right asking for a raise tbh.

Why do women short change themselves so much?

I know it’s so frustrating. The motive is that you are now underpaid and deserve to be paid at the going rate. The motive for your company in under paying you is so that the bosses can put more money in their own pocket. Would you voluntarily give them £12k a year?

[quote Randomname85]@TorringtonDean yes I’ve seen her signed contract.

Thanks all for your input, I’m not very good at being assertive or advocating for myself so I wanted to gauge whether I was overreacting. the reality is though, I’m not actually unhappy with my salary - it’s actually a really very good salary for the job and I wouldn’t have even thought have asking for a raise before her hiring so that makes me wonder if my motives wouldn’t be right asking for a raise tbh.[/quote]
Same role + same responsibilities = same pay. If they could afford £12k for her then they can for you. If 12 was their maximum then they should have offered her £6k and given you a bump up to the same.

I found out that a colleague with less experience and fewer qualifications than me was hired under a significantly better wage. I raised it and they said that her previous job was better paid so they couldn't offer her less. I stood my ground and said they weren't being fair. I eventually got almost as much. I have the last laugh though. I left and 4 years later my salary is almost double. I'm still left with a lingering bitterness about that whole company because of a number of episodes
Like that. They also tried to make me redundant because I had less project work than the other staff. I had less project work because I had just returned from maternity leave - of course I had nothing! Dicks. Don't let people walk over you op. They are paying your colleague that much because they think your job is worth that much. They are paying you so little because you've not complained. Don't feel the need to be loyal - they are not being loyal to you otherwise they would have evened up the difference straight away.

It does baffle me how companies are so reluctant to pay “market rate” for existing staff, yet are happy to recruit at that rate. This encourages staff to leave for that payrise and the company ends up paying more to replace them (whilst losing an experienced employee and incurring additional inboarding/training costs).

It's understandable you'd be miffed but you ripped often negotiate their own salaries when they start a job so it's not technically wrong. If she was on more in her last job she may have asked for more when she was offered the job.

[quote Randomname85]@TorringtonDean yes I’ve seen her signed contract.

Thanks all for your input, I’m not very good at being assertive or advocating for myself so I wanted to gauge whether I was overreacting. the reality is though, I’m not actually unhappy with my salary - it’s actually a really very good salary for the job and I wouldn’t have even thought have asking for a raise before her hiring so that makes me wonder if my motives wouldn’t be right asking for a raise tbh.[/quote]
This is exactly why she's paid 12 THOUSAND POUNDS more than you.

Unless you're on £100K+, that's a MASSIVE difference in your wages.

I found out a colleague with a lesser role and less responsibility was on 10k more than me a couple of years ok. I arranged a meeting with the boss, asked if they thought my value and worth to the company was so much less than other employee. Obviously said no. I explained I knew about the discrepancy in pay with other colleague and I wanted the same hourly rate.

They apologised and agreed on the spot and back dated it to the start of that month.

If you dont ask, you dont get!

Raise it with whoever is in charge of your pay (and don't wait until your next official review unless it's very soon -- that could mean months of missing out on higher pay!) - my department brought a new person in last year and several others in the team were given a 'market adjustment' pay rise in recognition of the fact that the rate the new person was on would also be the rate to replace them if they left because they felt underpaid.

Absolutely not being unreasonable. I’d be looking for something else or complaining!

A white man would think: "This is good news for me as it means I have the opportunity to get a 12k rise. I'll find my manager now and demand a meeting about it and then spend 45 minutes talking about how underpaid I am and how much I deserve this in tones of outrage"

@NellieWellietheEllie

A white man would think: "This is good news for me as it means I have the opportunity to get a 12k rise. I'll find my manager now and demand a meeting about it and then spend 45 minutes talking about how underpaid I am and how much I deserve this in tones of outrage"

🤣🤣🤣 A person would think.

So I’ve sent a note to the person in HR who is sort of an equal to my manager, I have a good relationship with her and she completed the hire so I want to talk to her about it first to see if there is (what it could be I can’t imagine) and explanation I haven’t yet thought of. Will see how that goes and then go from there! Thank you all so much for this brilliant advice and ‘head wobbling’ - it’s really helped me put it in perspective.

[quote Randomname85]@chopc I totally appreciate that for sure but that’s not the case here. We’re both ‘senior’ EAs with pretty identical experience and my workload is definitely more significant, in fact the idea was I would hand over some of my work to her on a regular basis when I have too much on.

@Winniemarysarah I guess without going into numbers directly, I am earning £23k more in this job full time than in my last job 🙈 it took me a long time to accept I was worth of this salary and generally have imposter syndrome in my career but my feedback at the end of last year solidified my ‘worth’ so I felt confident on that. So considering I am on a good salary as it is, is it right to say I’m unhappy just because someone in the same job is earning more? It’s really hard to know - but I do have a pit in my stomach and it has certainly immediately demotivated me and made me want to switch off for the day (it’s a remote job).[/quote]
Yes, it is. Why even question if it's right to say you're unhappy. You have found out you're deemed less valuable in a monetary sense and would like to be valued the same

[quote Randomname85]@TorringtonDean yes I’ve seen her signed contract.

Thanks all for your input, I’m not very good at being assertive or advocating for myself so I wanted to gauge whether I was overreacting. the reality is though, I’m not actually unhappy with my salary - it’s actually a really very good salary for the job and I wouldn’t have even thought have asking for a raise before her hiring so that makes me wonder if my motives wouldn’t be right asking for a raise tbh.[/quote]
Of course your motives are right, why should you, who's been there longer and doing the same job be paid less than someone else?!

@Randomname85

So I’ve sent a note to the person in HR who is sort of an equal to my manager, I have a good relationship with her and she completed the hire so I want to talk to her about it first to see if there is (what it could be I can’t imagine) and explanation I haven’t yet thought of. Will see how that goes and then go from there! Thank you all so much for this brilliant advice and ‘head wobbling’ - it’s really helped me put it in perspective.

Brilliant. Well done and good luck.

@NellieWellietheEllie

A white man would think: "This is good news for me as it means I have the opportunity to get a 12k rise. I'll find my manager now and demand a meeting about it and then spend 45 minutes talking about how underpaid I am and how much I deserve this in tones of outrage"

That would be me except I'm female I'm more likely to go "why is she paid more? Match it, or here is my notice" but then I have been described as.. sassy

but then I have been described as.. sassy

I hate that, if you were male you'd just be a male being male

Get your hands on a couple of salary surveys that are relevant to your area (not sure where you are located) and see where you fit in. Use that as part of your discussion. Also be careful to not disclose you know how much she is on - just because you have access to the info doesn't mean you should look at the info etc - don't want them to think you can't be trusted. Just perhaps say there is the implication she has started on a salary significantly more than yours.

Leave your imposter syndrome in the bin! As someone who has worked as a sole EA before you carry the place most of the time, you ARE important!

@AryaStarkWolf

but then I have been described as.. sassy

I hate that, if you were male you'd just be a male being male

Yep. See also mouthy/gobby/opinionated To me I would just see the salary difference as unfair and I'm quite black and white in what I see as not fair so I would be "well, why?" It's straightforward to me that it's "wrong"

Yep. See also mouthy/gobby/opinionated
To me I would just see the salary difference as unfair and I'm quiteblack and white in what I see as not fair so I would be "well, why?"
It's straightforward to me that it's "wrong"

More women need to think like this, it's so much down to how we're raised in society as girls and into womanhood. That we can't rock the bought or be greedy and we have to nice and compliant etc etc etc Bleh

rock the boat*