Accepted a low paying job - should my work reflect this?

[bluerooms]

I recently took a low paying job, it pays £13.50 an hour.
I have been self employed but had a dip in client work & was under pressure by dh because we have a wedding to pay for.
This way it's stable income and any client work is a bonus.
Pre self employment days my hourly salary would've been around £20ph (£35 self employed)
Being honest, my heart isn't going to be in this job at all, and the pay doesn't help matters.
Btw I am aware that this is potentially selfish and Ive taken a job I don't want that someone else might've loved but needs must etc.
Anyway, I knew i'd get the job due to my experience vs what they were paying. So now my question is, do I work like i'm worth what i've been paid previously or do I work a bit more than the bare minimum to reflect the £1 more than min wage they are paying me? (From April 25 anyway) ??

If we increased min wage to £20/hour it would still feel like an insult to many - I'm not sure what the solution is - but attaching the word minimum seems to be part of the problem.

If they've employed you as account admin, that's the role you do.
If they want to pay you for a day a week to do an accountants job then they should also do that.
Don't do work you're not paid for - they're being cheeky

My sympathies - I have a similar dilemma; I recently shifted down to a less senior job because I was stressed at working long hours and feeling nothing ever completed to the standard I'd like - and the money's not that important.
I enjoy the new role, but find I'm being given projects that match my ability and experience rather than the JD, salary and what my predecessor appeared to do (or not do)
Problem is, I prefer the project work to more tedious stuff - it is a difficult balance.

If you work harder now, you're either being taken advantage of or a bit stupid.

What? It's shit for someone to work their proper hours????

In a few months I will qualify as a doctor, but for the last couple of years I have worked as a bank HCA at the weekends to get me through, and because my children like to eat. Should I underperform as a HCA because I'm 'worth more'? Should I leave my patients lying in poo? Maybe I'm misunderstanding the post, because I can't quite get my head around it.

Rather like that than the people on this thread busting their guts for an employer who doesn't appreciate them and sometimes in dead-end jobs.

Are you deranged? By your reckoning a band 5 nurse or a nursing associate band 3 shouldn't work as hard as an investment banker.
Can't see you lasting that long in your current role.

Accountancy and related professions are normally quite hierarchical OP and defined in scope. From reading your update I would suggest that you perform accounts assistant tasks to the very best of your ability, but if they ask you to do tasks outside of that role, you should suggest they are someone else to do that task.

Lots of posters and mentioning other professions. I think an analogy would be a qualified GP taking a healthcare assistant role. They should be performing the healthcare assistant role to the best of their ability, but should not be diagnosing patients or issuing prescriptions (even though it falls within their skill set) because it's not the role that they are employed and paid to carry out.

It wouldn't happen in NHS clinical roles because asking a healthcare assistant to work to the level of a senior nurse could cause serious problems even though some very experienced HCAs might do some of the role pretty well.

I think if they employed as Widget Counter and are paying the rate of Widget Counter then they shouldn't be asking to do tasks that would be done by the role of the Chief of Widget Counters. It will cause YOU problems in the future because when you want to change jobs you'll struggle to explain the discrepancy between your role and the salary. You'll find the jobs you'll be suitable for will be low paid in relation to experience (piss taking employers like this one). Alternatively, recruiters will either discount you or batter you over the head on salary because what you have been earning in comparison to what they are paying is too wide a gap to explain.

You can do stuff like this short term but it's not a long term strategy. It's how many women get caught out because they are too scared to negotiate their worth. You need to think more like a man I'm afraid.

Neither role has a proper definition. There's a lot of "flexibility" in both roles and potential for tasks to come under either or both. Perhaps that's why there's confusion with the OP and her new employer.

I've worked with book-keepers who've literally done no more than write up the "books" - purely reactive, just writing transactions in ledgers with no input whatsoever into the rest of the accounts function. Whereas others virtually run the accounts function, i.e. creating sales invoices, chasing monies due, controlling supplier invoices and paying them when due, VAT returns, payroll, management accounts preparation, etc etc. The difference in scope can be massive.

Likewise the role of "accounts assistant" is likewise vague and can cover lots of different roles or just a single role. There are some accounts assistants who do nothing but supplier invoices, some others will do nothing but sales invoices, in big firms, there may be an "accounts assistant" who does nothing but look after the petty cash tin. Whereas other accounts assistants will have a very broad range of duties, especially in smaller firms, and could include things like payroll, VAT returns, management accounts, etc.

That's why it all depends on the job specification rather than a woolly and undefined job title.

Just do the job you're being paid to do, regardless of whether you now think it's too low paid for your ability.
You applied, were interviewed and accepted the post, so that's kinda how it works.
If it helps,many people with valuable skills work for less.

You work to your best ability!

I can't believe you thing that if it's a lower paid job you don't work as hard

Do you have no self-respect?

I have always worked above and beyond. It makes for a better worklife

Does your contract allow you to do client work whilst working for your employer?

You are misunderstanding.
I would not be working hours unpaid, would be taking my breaks, wouldn't run myself ragged, wouldn't make myself ill for minimum wage.
If you are working steadily, completing your tasks diligently and only taking your allotted breaks, but your patients are still neglected then that is the fault of your employer, who is relying on their employers goodwill to save themselves money. Employers get away with this shit because people let them.
And yes, that applies to the NHS too.

Wowzers - not true.

Not all 'older people' think like that!

Maybe for 'older people' replace with 'snobs who can't be arsed' - the latter could come from ANY age group

@Jumpeduppantrygirl good for you! And good luck in your new career.

I worked as a staff nurse for many years, and can safely say the best new doctors are the ones who have a lot of practical experience on the wards.

That's so kind of you, thank you! Totally agree; it would be great if the curriculum allowed for some time for all med students to work in the role.

What a shitty, snotty attitude. Lots of people work for this kind of money. They do it to the best of their ability. If nobody did these low paying jobs, we'd be fucked.

Your poor colleagues you obviously think this job is beneath you and are wasting everyone time so you can have an expensive day out why not leave the job to. Someone who. Wants it and will be grateful for it and lower your expectations for your day out

Is this likely to be somewhere you'll be staying at for some time? It's a lot easier to negotiate a pay rise when you're seen as indispensable then when you're seen to be doing the bare minimum.

By all means, don't work over your contracted hours, but when you're doing the job, do it to the best of your ability. And if you don't want to do it for the business, do it for you. You're less likely to go stir crazy if you're doing something that taxes your brain, and it'll stop you letting your skills get rusty.

i understand your points, but i guess part of it is that your experience is what got you the role, so in some ways thats your unique selling point

What? You work like you would always work. Selfish attitude or what?

You took the job knowing the pay and presumably knowing the job role or what they might expect you to do so for that reason you do your best, you don’t go in half arsed because you think you deserve to be paid more.