To think this is unfair of my employer? Or am I being entitled?

[Butamii]

I work as an accountant, I have been in this role for 7 years. Recently published newly qualified accountant rates for our company are 60k. I am paid 61,500.

I have been back from mat leave six months and I raised the pay issue when I learned that we had a newly qualified accountant join our team on this basis, ie he is paid 60k. He has zero experience as he hasn’t ever practised before. I have not specifically mentioned him (yet) but it prompted me to ask about pay.

i have been told that pay is about various things and that I have flexibility in my role that also is a valuable thing to have. I have to leave early for pick up for my child for example. They are very flexible. For clarity they weren’t saying I am not paid more because I have flexibility but they were saying that I need to consider the whole package the company offers and that pay is also linked to expectations being met. I said I have never ever been told I’m not meeting expectations either before or after maternity leave. At this point they said it had taken me a while to get back up to speed after Mat leave… this was the first I have heard of that as I have had good feedback since being back.

anyway they have said they will ‘feed back’ my concerns to the top. For me this isn’t sufficient and I am now on the cusp of actually calling out this hire in our team and explicitly stating that they are paying a (male) member of staff almost the same as me when I have never been told I am not meeting expectations before and I am much more qualified.

Am I being entitled here? I guess they can do what they want really and I don’t know for sure what others are paid at my level but I suspect I am in the lower end as I am not sure many people would put up with this? I am not able to know other salaries, I only know the new starter as it’s published on the website.

If you are not happy with your salary then leave and find somewhere else with a higher salary it's that simple.

You have tried to broach the subject and they're not interested that shows you what they think of you.

Calling out a new hires salary and trying to bring sexism into it is a road to nowhere and will make you look stupid unless you know and have evidence of female new hires being paid less.

Also working weekends and your days off is off your own back, stick to working your contracted hours, as you have found out you are just a number to them like most employees.

They could quit

That is absolute bullshit - they obviously expect that as they're offering you 'flexibility' as a mum they can pay you less, which is exactly why the gender pay gap remains entrenched in the workplace. Employees have the right to ask for flexibility, and your company's attitude is regressivbe and misogynistic. Probably easiest to leave but it's infuriating that companies get away with this - make sure you spell out exactly why you're leaving at your exit interview.

So the published rates start at 60k and they’ve started him on 60k

don’t make this about him if you thought you were worth more then you should ask for more irrespective if they’ve taken in new staff or not
it’s coming across as you are trying to spin this into disinformation and it about him being male

keep him out if it if I’ve understood right he’s started on the bottom of the pay scale and your higher up the pay scale

basically you work for a company who’s published pay scales don’t met your expectations

Can you check your HR policies and procedures? There’s often an equality type policy, usually has wording along the lines of equal pay for equal work in there somewhere. If that is in your staff policies, you could potentially use a that as a basis fr submitting a grievance.

I'm afraid you need to be looking for a new job @Butamii .

I have seen this time and again, and it always ends the same way. A company will usually try and keep their wage bill down, and an employee always thinks they are worth more than they are paid. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't.

In your situation, I would probably go and look for another job. If you get an offer, but want to stay where you are, talk to your current manager before accepting and before resigning and don't do it in an ultimatum type way. This is a dangerous game though, for many reasons. Also, once you've gone down that route, you may well make the mental decision to leave anyway in which case, it is time for a change.

17 years ago, 11 years post qualification, I was on 90k, 4 days a week, final salary pension, some extra hours and some flexibility to leave early 2 days per week.

Move... you will find another job. If you have a partner, get him to do pick ups and a 4 day week while you do the hours and prove your worth in the new job... then a couple of years in, you can see how to split this between you both.

This company sees you as someone who they do not need to treat well because you are a new parent, possibly holding on for a second maternity leave but who does not have the headspace to move. Prove them wrong.

I got shafted in a job after my first pregnancy .. was better than my colleagues, got a crappy payrise and a sideways move because I was not seen as ambitious. I took an internal move to another division, promotion, payrise, held the job open for me while I was the first division paid for my second maternity leave, and promoted me within a year of returning to a regional leadership position, still on 4 days a week.

Find someone who values you.

OP, when you say you work weekends and annual leave, is that to make up the hours that you are not in the office when you leave early to pick up your child from school.
Do you also arrive later?
I completely get where you're coming from, re experience, but are you visibly in the office for a lot less hours than the new employee?
Would you have the same flexibility with a new company?

Yeah you sound entitled. What other people are laid has nothing to do with you and frankly if 60k is the starting salary they may have moved this up and not the banding which means you are still on 61.5k. Can we assume you didn’t start there?

Also, as a women I resent you bringing gender into this. The new hire if they were a woman would be paid the same and your disappointment at not being paid the same shouldnt entitle you to play the gender card incorrectly.

It's unfair but "calling out" the new hire won't achieve anything except alienating them.
Something similar happened where my DH used to work - the new hire was actually getting more than anyone else on the team, didn't have experience and apparently wasn't very good. When it was brought up to management all that happened was new hires going forward didn't get as much. My DH left very soon after for double the salary.

You certainly shouldn't be calling out the staff member who's new. They've done nothing wrong whatsoever other than accept a job.

I don't like the way they seem to be only telling you now that your performance seems to be somewhat lacking? If that was the case why not raise it in meetings to see what can improve.
Not suddenly come out with it as a reason why your pay is not seeming fair compared to an inexperienced new starter. Also just after mat leave? It looks a bit whiffy.

I think you need to speak to HR. Are they basically being discriminatory because you need flexibility, or are you genuinely working fewer hours/producing less work? I hope you get to the bottom of it.

Perhaps schedule a meeting with hr. Just for a friendly discussion about the pay and hiw they don't seem to reflect experience anymore. See what they suggest.

I don’t think the issue is what they’re paying new starters, it’s probably what the market demands but their value of you is the problem. Know your worth and look elsewhere, given what you’ve said they don’t value you. And stop working evenings/weekends and days off all you’re doing is lining their pockets with your free work.

You have to leave. Almost no companies recompense loyalty well. Many women stay because of maternity leave and flexible working but the only way to get more money is to jump. sorry.

If it helps I’m 7 year PQ and paid £120k. £60k is standard for a NQ so I’d say you should be looking for £75k as a min. I’d fight it 100%.

They should have a published pay scale. Flexibility is, to my knowledge, not a factor that should influence pay scales. It is also something that women need more then men, so pay disparities based on caring responsibilities is a clear case of sex discrimination.

I am an owner of a firm of accountants (probably in a very different location though as our qualified starting rates are much lower!) and you are not being unreasonable.

What is your hourly charge out rate compared to the new starters?

Either their starting rates are too high when compared with the market or they're placing too much "value" on their flexibility for your pay. Have they struggled to recruit new starters in the past? Is there an indication that they only got these staff because they're willing to pay more?

Presumably you're working the same number of hours as they are?

If going rate is really about £68-79k for your position you could probably get a 4 day a week part time role with another firm for more money than you're currently paid!

Speak with a recruiter and see what they would say about your role. Use this as ammunition to go back to your employer.

"Following on from our recent conversation, it has come to my attention that newly qualified starters are earning only £1.5k a year less than what I'm earning. You mentioned before that my pay reflects some additional flexibility in my position, but I ultimately still work the same hours, at a higher level, than new starters and I don't think the ability to work from home occasionally [or whatever the flexibility is] should have that big a difference in my pay.

I have researched the market and the going rate for my level of experience is up to £78k per year. I do not expect to earn that much here, given the accommodations I have around family life, but I would appreciate the ability to renegotiate my contract."

You're not then specifically saying "or else I'll find somewhere else", but it is implied.

Their response will indicate how much they want you to stay.

When I handed my notice in at my previous firm, they came back the same day, offered me a new salary and a new location to try and convince me to stay.

I have a member of my team that isn't great at their job and if they came to me and asked for a pay increase, I might hold my ground (as, in their case, they definitely don't deserve any more) and if they choose to move on, so be it.

Definitely dont use anyone else to compare yourself with. I have seen people say this and it backfires on them.

The flexibility is important to you. Would you get this anywhere else with a higher salary. Would you consider leaving? If the answer is no to these questions then think very carefully how to handle this. You need to show your worth and use appraisals to back this up. Various examples of when you have done good word and had feedback on your work. That way they wont want to lose you but be prepared to think about leaving if they wont give it to you.

When you say you have to collect your child... and that everyone does this? Well, certainly the new starter doesnt. Are you sure its everyone?

On the first part I'd say it depends on the size of the business. I run a small company and if I had a published pay scale I'd literally just be telling everyone what everyone was earning as everyone is on a different level!

On the second part, however, I wholeheartedly agree. Perhaps factor a version of this into the conversation.

Bigger businesses do, I believe, have to report on gender pay gap, which would be very interesting in their case if OP's example was common.

Do your research and start applying elsewhere.
Weigh up whether to use your newly found info to stay and negotiate or leave to pastures new
Good Luck

Nooo, you did the right thing to raise the question. Given the pay for the new starter is on a website and therefore not secret you should point to it and ask about the small wage gap between you and him.

To be honest, the concern over pay scale revealing who’s paid what wouldn’t bother me. Better that than a situation where a lack of transparency leads to pay disparity or suspected pay disparity.

I am afraid the only effective solution here is to find another job - that’s the best way to meaningfully increase comp. Obviously, it comes with a bit of an upheaval but that’s how it is.

Going forward, you should be negotiating salary increases regularly. Doing that and benchmarking the market is good career hygiene really.

Referring to the new hire will achieve nothing. Employers do what works in a given market. If you position is in demand and it will be difficult /more expensive for them to replace you, then it’s a much better vector to pursue.

I appreciate you have more experience, but is your workload/skill demand very different?
I am paid the same as people with 10 years less experience than me, but the job role/person spec is the same so the pay is the same.
People get caught up in evaluating their skills/knowledge when working out what they should be earning, but they actually should be looking at what skills does their current role need. I may be able to fly a jumbojet, but if my job doesn't need that skill then I'm not going to get paid anymore for having it.

The only way to deal with this is to get a job offer elsewhere. That's the only want we're allowed to give out of cycle pay rises these days.