Pay disparity or fair enough?

[Grinandclareit]

I (32F) was on maternity leave when I was contacted by work - my line manager was leaving and I was offered his position.

I (stupidly) agreed to return to work early. When I asked about salary the CEO said "I don't even know what you are on now". I said "the lowest salary for this role in this type of business in this area would be £xxk". (Feeling like my current salary was irrelevant)

He had said there was no way he would get this much passed but would try again in 6 months when things bed in. Had no further discussion and HR sent me a contract for 10k less than I had asked. (A 10k increase on my previous salary - not to be sniffed at to be fair)
(The profession I work in publishes comprehensive salary reviews annually so I can confirm in this area, this role would be at least an extra 10k over the offer - the most common 30k over the offer)

i struggle with confidence and have been "overpromised" quite a number of times so far in my career - always verbal promises then nothing coming to pass.

This is a senior position in the company. There are two men at the same level as me.
i have recently found out each of them got significant increases shortly after I returned to work. There is now £25k difference between my salary and theirs.

i am 10 to 15 years younger so I appreciate I am not as experienced.
we are part of the same "level" of management but jobs are different.
CEO with a layer of senior management over different departments.

currently there is alot of change and my department is most impacted.
im a hard worker and regularly work way over my normal hours.

however this large difference in salary from my peers, combined with a number of historical overpromises, makes me feel on one hand I'm not good enough. On the other I know I work hard, produce good work and offer good insight into discussions.

i just can't tell if people tend advantage of my confidence and people pleasing tendancies.

i don't mind a gap in salary but I feel like 25k difference is alot.

is the difference fair? Perhaps other people's salaries are not my business.

equally the salaries published by my profession also show I am underpaid.

do i address it? If so, how?

It has been over 6 months the CEO has moved on and we will be getting a replacement in the near to medium future.

Sorry to hear that this has happened to you. This does sound really unfair. Hopefully someone with advice on how to redress the balance between you and your peers will come along. I guess I wondered what's keeping you at your current company? You've got experience in the role now, is it time to think about moving on?

Fair doesn't come into it. By your own admission you say that the other people on a higher salary than you have more experience in this field. Paying people different salaries who are in the same position is perfectly legal and is very common in more senior positions where salaries tend to be negotiated as part of the recruitment process.

If you feel that you are not being laid enough then you need to discuss this with your manager. Set out why you feel you deserve more and argue your case. Ultimately if they refuse what would you do? Would you be prepared to leave?

If you feel that you are not being laid enough

I'm so sorry but this is one of the best typos I've seen in a long time...

On a serious note, I'd be looking elsewhere for a new opportunity and also into some coaching/counselling to improve your self confidence. You deserve better!

Yes that's why I included that detail - to acknowledge I am younger. So maybe to be expected?

To clarify - although we are the same "level" we are in different fields. Could perhaps play a part but the published salaries from my field show a £10k to £30k underpayment.

I had already felt underpaid by industry standards and then the increases given to the men were significantly more.

I don't have a line manager currently. The CEO is my line manager so we are awaiting a replacement. I guess I'm wondering if I speak to the new person about it when they start.

They won't know me and I'm worried how it will come across from the outset.

I suppose I also feel slighted (rightly or wrongly) that the last CEO sorted out "the boys" before he left. They would have been friendly outside of work.

I would consider leaving depending on the conversation. I don't like feeling undervalued. However I like my job and get on well with the people I work with. I would rather not but perhaps a move would be better for my confidence rather than feeling "less than". But perhaps a good conversation with a valid explanation of why I'm "less than".

😂😂😂 maybe that's the problem!

Also thankyou. I was wondering just today if some kind of coaching would help.

When the new CEO comes in definitely speak to them. Yes you get paid based on experience but they're unlikely to have £25k worth of experience.

If you are on £60k and they are on £85k then this sounds very unfair.

If you are on £150k and they are on £175K the disparity becomes a less meaningful %

What happens with bonus?

There is nothing wrong with you booking an early meeting with incoming CEO and absolutely trumpeting your effort and skill stepping up to a new role. Point out you can earn far more elsewhere, you’re paid less than your peers, and if he wants to keep your talent and loyalty he had better honour the promise for a pay review within 3 months or you’ll be looking to move on.

i work for one of the major utilities
if we take a step up you get 10% or start on the bottom of new pay scale which every greater

irrespective of experience or gender

Get promises in writing in the future. Also, not a direct comparison with your peers as different fields and experience. I would knuckle down, deliver and next review tie an increase request into your performance.

I'm sure you're already aware that if you feel you're not getting laid enough, you should definitely not discuss this with your line manager 😂

It does very much seem like the CEO pulled a fast one on you whilst on maternity leave, getting you to accept an offer that was far too low. Obvs you didn't help yourself by telling him what you thought the minimum salary for that grade would be - you don't negotiate by starting out with the lowest number!

It's understandably not the conversation you want to open with when you meet the new CEO but equally what are your promotion prospects there if your role already reports to the CEO? I think I would mention as part of your chat that the old CEO was hoping to review your salary based on your performance in the first six months <insert evidence of how you've met all your objectives etc> but unfortunately left before there was an opportunity. However, you can see how the new CEO would be sceptical about that without a paper trail. If you don't get a positive response, I would assume that you were always going to be underpaid by this company, look on this role as a chance to build up your network and get some CV-worthy experience for no longer than about 18 months, and then look to move on. And when you're asked about salary expectations at interview, do not name the figure you actually want to achieve.

In our business the senior exec team covers a lot of departments and there are pay disparities between them, both in terms of base salary and bonus %. So I don’t think this is uncommon.

I also think from experience that it is common to be promoted internally with a below industry standard salary - much harder to get a good salary increase internally than as an external hire.

So I don’t think what you have described is necessarily unfair or wrong as such.

But the only way it will get addressed is if you ask for it. And the big thing here is that men do and women don’t. I’ve managed a lot of people in my time and the men are generally far more aggressive in their demands around pay and benefits. They don’t always get it, but law of average says they get it more often than those who don’t ask!

Thankyou very much everyone for your comments and advice. Some learning points for me. I think I may as well ask when we get a new CEO and as tribpot said at the very least use it to gain good experience. I doubt I would walk into another job at the same level with only 7 months experience so another 6 months or so and re-evaluate.

Thanks again