Work pay review disappointment

[ivegotthisyeah]

I am so mad I could cry!!
Had our work pay reviews this week.
I received and outstanding in my year end review ( very hard to get) and a promotion ( chose to stay at a lower level last year to gain more experience and more chance of decent pay rise this year) so I waited it out go over and above received fantastic feedback and I got the most appalling shitest increase of £900 a year. Wft !! I was gob smacked. Usual bullshit excuses goes on prior year you got double what everyone else got. It's private sector all on different pay so it's all irrelevant that I got double everyone else. My pay is low and I know it is but instead of complaining I've always tried to exceed my goals and work for a pay rise. It's seems they only had out decent pay rises when you leave or have another job waiting in the wings.
I am so mad and fucked off. Team leader said they are halting my promotion to go ahead with it in June as more chance of head office agreeing a pay rise out of pay review window.
I know my team leader is only the messenger but I actually want to laugh in her face at the fucking minimal shit £900 they think is ok.
I don't want to leave as it's flexible and benefits are good but I am so underpaid it's a joke.
I want to send her an email to say how dissatisfied and upset I am but not sure it will help. Do I want until June or voice my annoyance now - advice needed .
Been told this morning ( in confidence by a work friend) another colleague had gone in with another job offer and she got want she wanted but I am just not that kind of person to lie or make up a job offer pathetic aren't I

Thats good but it does highlight how low your wage is at just 34k 😖 whatever you do after this long you should be worth more than that. Have you compared externally with a similar role?

This story apart from the amazing manager and pay rise Is me! Been there so long I'm forgotten and that why I feel my pay is so shit for the length I have been there

Leave! You'll never look back! I stayed at a company for 13 years (mainly because I enjoyed 2 long mat leaves) worked hard, got glowing reviews and maximum payrises etc but barely ever more than 6% ish. Once I was done having babies I took redundancy when offered and went elsewhere. Even better benefits and flexibility and loads more money! And 15% bonuses too where as before the max I'd get in bonus would be around 3%. Honestly look elsewhere you'll never look back!

You'll never match the salary staying in the same place, you've got to move around if you want large pay rises.

Most people where I work are getting 3% and it's been 2, 3 and 4% for most of the last few years. It's crap so you need to move if you want more.

Thanks for everyone's advice whether you're an employee or an employer.
I think I need to voice my disappointment to my team leader again but also start looking about.
I also want to let her know that other jobs I have seen are starting on more that what I am on now. ( even though she will be aware of that)
I've been there 20 yrs I love my job and the people I work with but it isn't enough to keep me there if I am not valued enough to be on a fair salary.
I've given so much effort to them and got nothing back I feel very deflated

Do it, you will not look back and in a years time you probably won't even be in contact with anyone you've worked with over the last 20 years. In response to your user name- you've got this yeah!

That sounds amazing ! I won’t as which council but I want to join. There is 3k between the top and bottom of our band. Now you have to be in role three years before you move to the middle step and then a final year to get your the top of band . So 4 years for 3k. I know the yearly rise happens but still it’s hardly anything. The issue is my role is quite specific so I will need to complete to try and get a rare promotion but I have no where near as much experience as the other 20 people who do my job.
The council I work for went bankrupt last year and they say there is no money to give more than 1 percent . I think if it wasn’t for the pension scheme I would have gone .

.
it is great you can then apply for jobs in the next band. I fear my role is way too limited with progression!!! It’s mainly workers , one supervisor and then one manager!!!!

How much more of an increase did you have in mind?

Apply for a new job. It's the best way.

I’ve looked around out of mild curiosity - but I’ve never found anything close to what I do, certainly not anywhere near where I live. Anything remotely similar has been significantly lower paid. We have job levels. It used to be Zone 1 was the highest, come 12 the lowest. When I started, I was in a zone 11 role, did a few sideways moves before I got my promotion to a zone 10 then had another sideways move to my current role. So it’s a very low role. The zoning structure changed, but the equivalent of the 11’s and 12’s have now all been outsourced - so I’m literally the at the lowest level a directly employed person can be. All roles are externally benchmarked. Our 80% of range is equivalent to 100% anywhere else. They benchmark annually.

I get 32 days holiday, plus bank holidays and Xmas Eve (all paid) per year, a weeks salary bonus at Christmas, my annual bonus is 6% of salary and can earn up to 200% of that, I work from home full time bar 2 days in the office a month, I get quite a lot of very nice meals out and nights away with work because of the team I’m in, they’ve just agreed to give me a trial to have every other Friday off and increase my hours on other days to give me a better work life balance, my boss lets me take breaks to play a competition in my online game once a month, we are actively encouraged to take breaks and time out for wellness activities, there’s all the support we could want for personal development, we have a very good healthcare scheme (I have pre existing conditions now so going elsewhere would be a problem), a full mental health first aid team including suicide first aiders, work paid for me to go to the Asda ball last October, I have a very good pension scheme to which they contribute a good chunk to, etc etc - basically all of the extras I get, even if I found a higher salary elsewhere, would likely be offset by what I’d lose. I can’t managing having to drop back down from the amount of holiday I have!

i have said to my new boss that I think I might be ready to start looking at my development again. In my first 9/10 years here I had various tune out for having children, in my last 10 years or so I fell in love with my role like I never have before. Every day is different, I’m the expert in what I do. I manage my own workload, I have autonomy to make decisions over how I do the job and implemented lots of ways to give me ownership and a sense of purpose. I experienced a couple of years of ill health, and so the years sort of slipped by. Now my kids are older and I’m not having to think about childcare in term time, I’m really ready to focus on my career - and this is a great place to do that. So hopefully I can look at getting my salary greatly improved through promotions. It’s been a tricky decision because I wasn’t sure I wanted to risk trying something new and no longer loving what I do for a bit more money. But unless my boss is prepared to put me up to the very top of the scale for my role, I think I’m probably as far as I can go in terms of salary beyond possibly inflationary pay rises.

phew that was long - sorry! I’m very passionate about my job and the business I work for!

I can definitely relate to the length of service thing - you feel like part of the furniture! Things really changed for me when there was a big restructure. The new GM we got took a shine to me and told my manager at the time he thought I was brilliant. Then Covid hit and I was the one organising quiz and bingo nights for the business to try and keep spirits up. I remember one of the family bingo nights it ended up being just him and his kids plus me and my kids - but his kids really loved the bingo nights I’d run previously so I carried on and did it for them and my kids anyway. I remember he was really grateful that I did that and apparently the children still remember it now - basically I think I’d earned his respect over my attitude to work and people, and that is likely why he agreed to that very first pay rise. It really goes to show how having the right management in place can make a huge difference. That GM was the first we had that was very much people first, business second - he helped push to get our mental health first aid programme and was a trained MHFA himself. The subsequent GM’s we have had have both been very similar (one was only an interim GM to be fair) - I think the business is recognising that happy and engaged associates help the business to perform even better!

I hope you have success with your manager - good luck!

But your 3.92% wasn’t anything to do with your promotion? It was your pay review on your existing salary?

As I understand it, your promotion is due to happen in June, at which point you’re due a further promotional pay rise?

I would concentrate on asking your manager on clarity over what your new role will pay. Surely it’s normal to know the salary before deciding if you want to take on more responsibility.

I think you’re conflating the two separate events OP.

What’s a pay rise? 😉😁

If it helps I got 1.5% this year, private sector. So a pay cut. Food has gone up by 25% apparently (more like 50% in this house). Absolutely shite.

I think you've just learned a really valuable lesson.

There's absolutely no point in having a strong work ethic, performing to outstanding and going above & beyond.

You are no better thought of than those that underperform, take the piss etc etc

Make sure you factor in redundancy pay to your calculations. My friend kicked herself, was 25 years at a major blue chip, low salary but excellent sick pay, redundancy was one month for every year of service plus a lump sum and the enhancement for being over 40. Went somewhere else for an extra 5k and her team was bade redundant the next year, she had been carrying them all the time. She's died now and even her death in service was miniscule. Look at the whole package, not just the salary.

Loyalty only goes one way in most companies. They say 'family' and 'loyalty required' but would have an ad to replace you in a heartbeat if you got hit by a bus.

Job hopping really is the only way to get paid what you're worth, unfortunately. Companies are relying on you to feel 'loyalty' (again, that isn't reciprocated) and not want the hassle of looking/interviewing elsewhere.

Two things come to mind with your dilemma - one is 'what we allow we encourage' - if you stay in an arrangement even when you are not getting what you feel you are worth, you are contributing to the continuation of that situation.

The second is the parable of the workers in the vineyard - in its most literal sense we get what we agreed and need to be careful of expecting more on our interpretation of what is fair. I think it would be a shame if you lost the pride you should feel for being an outstanding employee; now is maybe the time for you to take that shining example and go out and see who will pay you what you want including terms and conditions that fit your circumstances.

This situation may well have done you a great favour, putting you on the road to seeing what else is out there for an amazing worker like you! You have a choice, stay and become a bitter employee or take what you have achieved and see what comes your way.

Think yourself lucky. I got 2%. In my experience, I’ve only worked for one company that reviewed pay fairly and individually. The rest, including my current one, give one shit inflation related rise across the board and a thousand excuses.

I work for a university and we got bugger all.

So, if GBP900 extra is 3.92%, then you are ONLY on about GBP23000 per year? Right? Is this a full-time job? That's only $AUD45700 ... Which would be an unskilled job for 4 days per week (or 3.5 days per week for a higher demand role here). Full time here is 35hrs/week in most jobs. Sounds like you're in a very low-skilled job or you only work a short week. I MAY BE WRONG ... just comparing standard money per week here.

If you're not happy, leave. That's how it works.

The OP says they work PT.

It all comes down to how much you trust your manager. I’ve been in her shoes and had team members who were ripe to do more and definitely deserved more pay, but at that moment chances of increased pay were slim to none. Sometimes the waiting has been months, but we’ve usually got there. She’s playing a longer, more strategic game because she thinks the short game sucks.

I think you probably do need to wait, but also to look around. If you’ve outgrown your role it might be time for something new.