To be absolutely gutted at getting the lowest payrise in the organisation?

[MassageGun]

I am the only person, out of 130 staff to be getting less than 5%.

I have a senior support staff role on a school, the most senior. It's a tough job juggling conflicting priorities and basically any problem that isn't directly related to teaching and learning lands on my desk. I do a good job and always get excellent reviews. Pay is comparable to an upper scale teacher without allowances.

This year teachers are getting a minimum of 5% with some of the lower paid getting more. Good.

Support staff points are all getting the same amount in pounds. For some staff this is up to 10%, also good for the lowest paid, but doing it that way means that people higher up the scale get a lower %.

I'm happy that ridiculously low paid staff will be getting a decent rise for a change, but to be getting significantly less than anyone else in the organisation, including some paid a lot more than me is really hard to take.

It's no one at the school's fault (LA school tied to national payscales) but to say I'm feeling unvauled and unmotivated would be putting it mildly.

AIBU and how do I get over it?

Was is the op getting such nasty responses?!

I'm not sure why everyone seems determined to prove my job description's wrong, but we're a special school over 4 sites.

2 site managers, 6 kitchen staff, cleaners (the hardest of all to manage! ), 4 admin/receptionists, HR and finance officers and 2 general admin.

Your school is in a small minority then as the vast majority of schools have teachers working on the main scale, stuck on a pay point never moving. The UPS is like gold dust. They also have a list of jobs as long as their arm. That's an impressive list of responsibilities you have but I'd say a lot of them are not daily stresses. Line reports are not done daily and neither are H&S reports/budgets. I still think you're getting paid a decent amount of money, a lot more than others.

Because it would seem completely and utterly baffling to us that your direct line reports would include HR, site managers, catering, admin, cleaners and finance AND be responsible for the budget AND first point of contact for ofsted

The nhs has done the same and put up pension contributions so some people get less take home even with their their rise.

Well, if it is tied to the LA it isn't you being unappreciated, it's just a quirk of how this has been worked out surely?

Why? That is the actual definition of a school business manager. Basically managing everything that isn't directly related to teaching and learning. Who else do you think does this stuff in a school?

@MassageGun YABVU.

Yes, this year your % is lowest, but in cash terms a flat rate increase is a fair approach.

Think back in this job, how many years has some one else had the lowest % pay rise. What did you do, offer to share your bigger increase?

As you know from your role, the Public Sector has to work within a budget and reward professionals will have modelled a range of options that is fairest for everyone, underpins the pay structure, addresses increases in NMW, addresses structural anomalies, complies with equal pay legislation etc. They will not have gone, oh yes let’s give MassageGun a lower % increase than everyone else.

A finance manager
A facilities manager
A school Business manager

Tbh I’d just be grateful that you are getting a pay rise, our country is going through a tough time financially.

After working minimum wage jobs for years, I’ve changed jobs and had a substantial wage rise however dh has not had a pay rise in 10years. Employee morale is at it’s all time lowest.

Yes, and that would be fine if all the higher paid people were getting a lower increase, but they're not.

I know all the arguments. I'm not sure I believe anyone would really be OK with being the only person in their organisation, including people earning much more than them, to be getting less than 5%

But the business manager manages all of those, where the posts exist. In most schools they don't.

But you have no comparator op from what you’ve said. If there were several people doing your job and you were the only one then I’d agree with you. But everyone else has got more because their job is different so I can’t agree with you

My point, I suppose, is that your role does not seem to carry enough status in the hierarchy.

You have all the grot to manage, and they even take a few weeks off you.

If you were to move to a pure finance role in a bigger organisation you would leave behind all the thankless grot, and be properly rewarded for a big finance function.

Schools can and do vary pay scales with honoraria, so they could do it if they wanted to. First thing would be to go back to 52 weeks..

Just because it is not a teaching role does not mean it is inferior.

I found out someone who started at my place last month is on a higher hourly rate than me - been there nearly 5 years but apparently because she used to be higher up before starting her family over 15 years ago (and hasn't worked since), she is worth it. Even though she hasn't worked all that time and is on the same level as me and is very jobsworthy she is worth more than me. Really annoying but try not to think about it cos actually l like my job.

I know all the arguments. I'm not sure I believe anyone would really be OK with being the only person in their organisation, including people earning much more than them, to be getting less than 5%

So who can fix it?

You say it’s ‘a few hundred pounds’ and wouldn’t make a material difference to your overall school budget.

Go and talk to the Head, or whoever. Lay out your arguments.

Or let it go.

YANBU to be gutted you got the lowest pay rise. Feel the feelings. Then decide, either how can I fix this, or should I just move on from this?

You can’t compare yourself to other members of SLT they are paid as teachers which is a completely different pay scale.

What's behind the emotion? Under appreciated or financially desperate for the increase? I think understanding your motivation and then taking action will help you.

Perhaps talking to your manager/Head will be sufficient but if you want to earn more and have a finance background I would encourage you to apply elsewhere as qualified finance professionals are in high demand. I don't think your age will be a factor but perhaps the lack of experience in sectors outside schools?

Could you consider taking your pension and supplement with a lower stress part time role?

There's nothing like being an equally overworked and underappreciated member of Support to finally get a slightly better payrise on their eighteen grand a year, only to know that that the SBM, who earns significantly more than anybody else who isn't senior teaching staff, is bemoaning the fact that she isn't getting more of a raise in real terms than they are.

Being blind to the fact that SBMs consistently and intrinsically benefit more from percentage increases each time compared to the TAs paid next to fuck all in the first place or the person who takes the screaming phone calls and parents turning up at reception baying for blood (literally at times) isn't going to garner a great deal of sympathy from those TAs or the person - usually a woman - who is shouted at multiple times a day, only to be told their job isn't that important.

I absolutely appreciate what SBMs do. But they do earn very well in comparison to all other Support Staff, both before and after this increase. And whilst it is undoubtedly stressful, so is working at the pointy end for an equivalent monthly pay less than that working on a supermarket checkout - a valuable job in itself, but one that does not require the broad range of specialist and transferable skills that school support need.

If the school has expanded to four sites over time, it could well be a good point to consider restructuring responsibilities, though - why can't the SM take over the cleaners? Or the Office Manager/PA take over the other admin staff? Or the DM be managed by a DHT and in turn, manage Admissions, Attendance and the EO, leaving the SMB with a smaller number of direct reports and only getting involved when something needs to be escalated? If you leave, have you planned for somebody else to be able to take on the role, or are you preventing others from gaining the experience that would allow them to be considered for progression?

@NoSquirrels It doesn’t work like that in the Public Sector. Pay rises are normally determined by a central pay team and then implemented, they are not individually negotiated. The op got the same £ increase as many of her colleagues which is fair to all.

@MassageGun I suspect the only reason you know you got the lowest % is because you do the budgets. You are in a very privileged position knowing everyone’s salary and pay rise, the downside is being able to compare your pay rise.

Think about how you would have impartially divided up the budget amongst the staff, would you really have taken money from others to give yourself a higher %, if so who would you take it from and what is your justification?

I suspect the only reason you know you got the lowest % is because you do the budgets. You are in a very privileged position knowing everyone’s salary and pay rise

It’s the public sector, with pay scales. It hardly takes Einstein to work out that someone at the top of the pay scale is getting a lower % pay rise than those lower down.

The op got the same £ increase as many of her colleagues which is fair to all.

Only if you don’t understand how inflation works.

It is much harder to get a new job in your 50s - massive sympathy from me

But when they all got the same %, it was OK for the lowest paid staff to get about £120 a year on their £12k whilst the SBM got £500+?

Maybe if we look at it in terms of teaching scales - is it reasonable for a DHT to be upset and considering going off sick for six months as retribution for the fact they're only going up to £74,000 because the ECT now gets the princely sum of £28,000?