AIBU to be hacked off that a colleague inadvertently shared my salary with whole team

[YorkshireTrailRunner]

A Return on Investment report regarding my role and impact, a request to every member of the Core Team by an external stakeholder colleague, has been shared throughout the whole team (22 people) as an example of good practise. However, in doing so, my salary has also been shared. Am I being unreasonable to be a bit hacked off, or am I being precious?

Despite having been a teacher whose salary could have been looked up by any parent who wanted to, I still think this is really bad.

OP's is an entirely different situation, despite being in public service. To be honest, although people could theoretically look up my salary (or at least guesstimate where I was on the salary scale) I'd still be livid if a document went out about me, with my name on and my salary spelled out to all. It's an unnecessarily personal way to spell out a role's value, and even as a teacher I'd have complained.

So yes, OP, I'd absolutely say that you felt exposed by the sharing of this document.

@sjxoxo

Similar happened to me & I spent the next few months justifying my salary to everyone. Even those not in the same role as me were very hostile about it. Ive since had a further pay rise and if my colleagues knew I think they’d be furious; but I think I’m worth it to the business in the role that I do. I think your salary is for you to negotiate, or not depending on where you are and what role etc. My colleagues think we should all be paid the same, even though we don’t do the same roles at all. On one work trip, f during a 4 hour car journey, a colleague told me she thought she could do my job just as well as me.. I pointed out I’m bilingual for starters. Anyway- it was horrible and YANBU xo

I would have answered her in your second language and not responded in English at all for the rest of the trip!

I dont really get why the people who aren't bothered are posting to say that. The OP is clearly very bothered, how does it help to post that you don't care? I very much doubt she's going to read that and suddenly decide she's OK with it after all

Well the OP quite explicitly asked if she was right to be bothered. So other people saying that actually, they wouldn't care is highly relevant. It's exactly what the OP asked for. 'Am I right to be bothered?' 'Well I wouldn't be' is a perfectly valid response.

@betwixtlives

Why do you care? I’ve never understood the weird secrecy about salaries

Because it’s just her. It’s like you’re naked when everyone else is dressed. Power imbalance.

Why should your salary be a secret.

its just frustrating to see yet another thread where the reality of data protection law is hugely misrepresented

I disagree my comment hugely misrepresented the law. I think when making any assessment it’s acceptable to make reasonable assumptions and for the purposes of this discussion thread (as opposed to legal opinion) I’m comfortable with the assertion that this was likely a breach.

I understand your frustration at the wilful misrepresentation of privacy legislation but there are far more egregious statements on this thread.

I personally wouldn't care at all. I'd like to see us follow the countries where all salaries are publicly available, to address inequalities like the sex pay gap.

If you feel that others knowing your salary will cause problems with colleagues then clearly you know there is a problem. Wanting to hide the truth is rarely a sign you are doing the right thing.

@PegasusReturns

its just frustrating to see yet another thread where the reality of data protection law is hugely misrepresented

I disagree my comment hugely misrepresented the law. I think when making any assessment it’s acceptable to make reasonable assumptions and for the purposes of this discussion thread (as opposed to legal opinion) I’m comfortable with the assertion that this was likely a breach.

I understand your frustration at the wilful misrepresentation of privacy legislation but there are far more egregious statements on this thread.

I didn't say you'd misrepresented the law - just that the thread does!

I dont really get why the people who aren't bothered are posting to say that.

I appreciate that not everyone reads the thread or even the OP but one might hope they'd at least read the title of the thread before commenting.

Definitely send an email to your managers. I expect there will be a lot of disgruntled colleagues, so be prepared for the cold shoulder from some. I'm saying this as someone who went through similar. And no, they won't reasonably think you've got x experience and qualifications and responsibility. They'll just see that you're earning more.
They should not have shared that info or identified whose it was. This isn't just about a breach of data, it's how your relationship with your colleagues may be affected also.

I'd be outraged! Report it to HR as a breach of data protection and ask them what they intend to do about it!

I think YABU. But that's because I strongly disagree with salary information being hidden from colleagues. Its in all our interests to know if someone older or younger, a different ethnicity or most likely, a man, is earning more than us for like work.

All salaries should be known tbh so that everyone is paid fairly 🙈

But what’s happened to you isn’t right obviously.

@5128gap

I think YABU. But that's because I strongly disagree with salary information being hidden from colleagues. Its in all our interests to know if someone older or younger, a different ethnicity or most likely, a man, is earning more than us for like work.

It isn't at all unreasonable of OP to be annoyed that she's the only one whose salary had been revealed though. As another poster said, it's an imbalance of power that will cause her issues, and the naked vs clothed thing is apposite.

@TabithaTittlemouse and all others who have taken the time to actually read what this is about, thank you for your time and input. For those talking about GDPR and IOC (I only know this as the International Olympic Committee, totally clueless about anything else) this was not within any stratosphere of my original question.
And to @OfstedOffred
'The fact that the external stakeholder has asked for this report already indicates people are questioning the amount you are being paid. I can imagine why you are mortified, I'm guessing you've negotiated yourself top whack and know full well others doing comparable if not identical roles will feel the gap between their and your pay isnt justified.'
If your username is an accurate description then we come from similar backgrounds and if you carry this unfounded, preconceived, mis-informed judgementalism into your job then you are a disgrace to your profession and I fear for the establishments you enter. Moreover, Margaret Atwood's dystopian portrayal would welcome such a high-handed view as yours, 'Offred'

Yes saraclara, that's a fair point. However, I note that the OP is concerned that there will be resentment directed at her, which suggests she has some idea of the salaries of the rest of the team and where she sits on the hierarchy already, but preferred this not to be widely known.

Employers hate employees sharing salaries as it lets them get away under paying people. Wouldn’t say it’s a
“Serious” GDPR breach as some are claiming.

Public sector has to be transparent with anyone earning more than the prime minister publicly named.

YANBU OP, send your email. I'm all for sharing salaries, but if mine was the only one shared I'd be apoplectic.

I have a significant salary supplement because of a professional qualification that the majority of my colleagues don't have. I imagine they realise I have something but I doubt they realise the extent. If everyone's salaries were published then I'd weather the storm but if all the heat was on me I'd be furious.

The name and salary should have been redacted.

Also, if it's a ROI report, does that mean there's an element of appraisal of your performance in it, as well as factual cost information?

@Viviennemary

Why should your salary be a secret.

Because only OP’s salary was published

Hi Yorkshire TR,
"A Return on Investment report regarding my role and impact, a request to every member of the Core Team by an external stakeholder colleague, has been shared throughout the whole team (22 people) as an example of good practise. However, in doing so, my salary has also been shared. Am I being unreasonable to be a bit hacked off, or am I being precious?

Ironic that that this disclosure, accidental or otherwise, comes under the guise of good practice. I think you need to think carefully about how you want to deal with this, report it to HR or whoever, or use it as a negotiating point to raise your salary a notch or two or, since there's no undoing this, really get back at whoever did it and "reply all" that since they consider it good practice, will they now please reveal everyone's salary, including management. See what that turns up!

I guess you’ve got a right to complain under the circumstances but it’s really bad practice for salaries to be confidential.

At my DH’s company it is totally transparent what everybody earns from the CEO downwards. I was a teacher and at the state schools I taught at all the teachers knew which increment on the pay scale everyone was on. The private school I taught at was very secretive about exactly how much everyone earned. I think that, whatever your job or profession, you should know what your colleagues earn.

@betwixtlives

Why do you care? I’ve never understood the weird secrecy about salaries

This