Need some advice about possibly being disadvantaged by having been off on maternity leave please - sorry VERY long

[Odelay]

I?ll try to be as succinct as possible but I want to get this all down and it?s convoluted.

I have been with my employer for four years. During this time my job role has changed significantly, not least in being responsible for an important project, which to date has been successful in securing savings of over £4.5 million in two years (actually more than our annual funding from the Government).

Back in February 2009 it was suggested by my Line Manager, with the backing of our Head of Department that my job be re-graded to reflect the additional responsibility it now involves. A new job description was drawn up, more accurately reflecting my role and responsibilities and all the paperwork was completed giving a justification for re-grading.

I was copied in on a memo that basically said it was a done deal; it confirmed the support of the Head of Department, plus the Regional Director and asking my Line Manager to take it forward with HR.

Now I was due to go off on maternity leave at the end of June, and actually had DS early, before I had finished work for maternity leave, so my exit was all a bit of a rush and although I had a few keeping in touch days and did ask what was happening with it I was given various reasons for a delay in getting the re-grade sorted and didn?t really push it,

At this time our department was under review (actually a review of a review, ongoing for the last 4 or so years) and I accepted that until there was some conclusion to this it was unlikely that my job change would be confirmed. However this review process was finally concluded, with actually no conclusion. It was decided we all do a good job and there was nothing else to be said.

Another aspect of this is that my Line Manager was hoping for her role to be re-graded too, now I think, from what I have heard 2nd hand that her request was turned down flat because she doesn?t have responsibility for x number of staff which is a precursor to being a grade whatever. SO what I suspect is that at this point her interest in securing me my re-grade probably decreased.

Now my employer is a Non-Departmental Public Body, which in a nutshell means, we are in part funded by the Government, although do remain independent (in theory and to a degree) we are however very much effected by the current climate and the recent spending review has meant that our budget has been cut dramatically and we have been put into emergency cost cutting measures, a number of redundancies will have to be made, recruitment and pay frozen for at least 2 years, we are in pretty dire straits, everything is very uncertain. It could not be a worse time to be pursuing a re-grade of my job.

However my point is, and I made this point to the Regional Director when I first returned to work (June this year), and verbally he agreed, that although I appreciate the current climate is not conducive to role changes and pay increases it concerns me that if this matter had been settled more expediently, and I take some responsibility for this as during my time on maternity leave I didn?t actively pursue the issue with anyone more senior than my rather disinterested Line Manager, it would have been concluded in less uncertain times and therefore almost definitely more favourably.

I realise that with things the way they are now i have a snowball in hells chance of getting my re-grade, but this isn?t fair!

When it was first talked about it was so positive and I was given every reason to believe it was going to happen, and what?s more that a pay increase would be backdated to when I took on this extra responsibility and now I don?t think anything at all is going to happen and the way I am looking at it is that I have been disadvantaged by being off on maternity leave. Had I been a visible presence in the office over the last year I think things would have happened more quickly

Is there anything i can do? I have every sympathy with the organisation as a whole in these awful times, but this should have been sorted out 18 months ago when things looked very different

You could request an Honorium as recompense for the work "above grade" which you have contributed in response the "promises" or assurances which you had been given.

Thanks Lucinda. I'll google that and look into it as it's not something I've heard of

Not sure how to spell Honorium, but it is something they use in Local Government.

Alternatively, you could ask for a "Special Responsibility Allowance" backdated possibly.

Or you could be glad that you still have a job!

Of course I am glad I have a job. I am very sensitive to the situation. I love my job and am passionate about what we do. Doesn't make it much easier to bare.

Is it bear not bare? LoL

Bear bare whatever. Not THE most important thing is it?

sorry don't mean to be terse, life is stressful ATM and i'm and upset about this. as i've said i like my job, i don't want to rock the already rocky boat, but if there is anything i am entitled to do, quite reasonably, i'd like to knwo what it is

Unless you have it in writing that you were going to be regraded from x date then there is not really a lot you can do.

I appreciate that its the shitty end of the stick but I'd go with the sentiment that its better to have a job. If you had been regraded then you could have found yourself too expensive and one of the posts being axed.

Just a few points.

Job regradings are based on the post, not the person, so you could be brilliant at your job, but if your job is at a particular level, then no matter how good you are, it won't warrant a regrading. Job evaluations look at objective criteria.

I work in HR and sometimes, managers promise staff re-gradings but when we (HR) look at the job against the criteria, it doesn't warrant a re-grading.

Most job evaulation processes are the same, I'm assuming you'll probably use something like JEGS, which is based on points scores. The criteria which scores the most points are qualifications (this is based on what the job needs, not what you have) and also 'impact' (which is whether your job impacts the whole organisation or just your section)

I also work in a NDPB and whilst our pay is frozen, the big bosses can authorise regradings, if they really wanted to.

Why not talk to HR and request a regrading? Failing that your only other option is to take out a grievance. Are there any other people in your organisation doing a similar job at a higher level? If there are, then you will have a good case to ask for a regrading.

thanks chanie44, that gives me some things to think about. I know that there is probabably little i can do, but at least if i know that i can accept it if that makes sense. i just want to make sure i have done everything i can.

i am the only person in my organisation who does what i do, which i suppose makes it harder.

and yes i'm aware of the futility of bleating on about me me me when others are losing their jobs, but actually if i have been told something is going to happen, and then it doesn't, probably becuase i am off work and out of sight out of mind i think i need to pursue it as far as i can for my own peace of mind

odelay i just want to say i really sympathise. i'm in a vaguely similar situation, in that i have spent three months doing a more senior job than I am paid for - in fact, doing two jobs for the price of one, after my senior colleague left. my senior colleague has not been replaced and i have been left to do his job as well as mine. i have been strung along with hints of promotion, but weeks and weeks go by and nothing ever happens, despite me being as pushy as i reasonably can be. i'm due to leave on maternity before christmas. i now think my boss is trying to string out the situation until i disappear on maternity, and will then appoint someone in my absence - which will be infuriating. he doesn't like women. i don't have any suggestions for you as i work in the private sector and it's a different set up, but i do know how you feel.

Regardless of the current financial situation, you should be paid the correct rate for your job within the organisation.

I deliberately tried to put you off - I do this for everyone who comes to me to discuss regrading. The reason for this is because quite often people have unrealistic expectations as to the outcome. The job evaluation criteria looks at specific things like like management, budgetry responsibility and qualifications and no matter how good they are at their jobs, if they don't do certain things, they won't get regraded.

I do totally sympathise with you. I think maybe you should talk to your line manager and then go to HR. At least that way you'll have peace of mind.

Thanks guys, the fact you understand my frustration helps. Sotough it's rubbish isn't it? and i keep thinking of those articles that say women earn less because they make less fuss and don't stand up for themselves. which i think it true for me

chanie44, i'm not being unrealistic, and i didn't ask for thsi in the first place, it was suggested by my managers because my job has changed significantly in the last couple of years.

I have asked for a meeting with the Regional Director. He was due to discuss it with the Executive Board this week, but obviously compared to what is going on in the bigger picture my lowly regrade must be very far down on the list of things being discussed, and unsurprisingly it didn?t get talked about. He has told my Line Manger that he will be speaking to the next Director up about it and expects it will be signed off. I just don?t know when, and after all this time have doubts that it actually will

Just the very fact that this organisation is so very bureaucratic and that EVERYTHING has to go through 15 levels before being agreed is a stumbling block. The people making the final decision don?t know me, or what I do. Those who do know me and value my contribution don't have the authority to do what they think should be done, but that's a whole ither thread.

I think I am in a pretty good bargaining position. The fact that I have generated an enormous amount of income isn?t something that has been properly recognised, and it should have been, no one else could have done this, and it?s not something that was in my original job description. Although I really don?t want to be ?nasty? if I start shouting about the fact this hasn?t happened because I was on maternity leave (which pretty much is certainly the case) it won?t look good will it?

oh and i DO have it in writing, i have a copy of a memo giving the agreement of my Line Manager, Head of Department and Regional Director. What's particulaly galling is that it say provison has been made in the 09/10 budget for a pay increase (memo dated March 2009).

I'd also like to stress that this isn't just about an incrase in pay (which wouldn't have been huge even in the best of times) but it's also about recognition and my standing (if that is the right term) internally.

sorry i really have banged on

I have no experience in your sector Odelay but wanted to say keep fighting!!!

As you rightly say, women are generally paid less than men because we don't make a fuss or ask for what we are entitled to. You have already done the work and performed at the higher level, and they should either get on with the regrade and DO it, or stop promising that "it will happen".

How can something that relates to wages not be attached to a timescale?

"Be grateful you have a job" is a recipe to be exploited IMO. Of course, we do always have to recognise that times have changed and what might have seemed a natural reward 6 months ago is going to be much harder to achieve now because so many companies and government departments are struggling, but I don't see how that relates to your situation.

I nearly gave myself a breakdown this year working lots of late evenings, early mornings, working a 20-hour day after an overnight flight etc., that doesn't mean I'm going to roll over and say "yes boss" when in my forthcoming appraisal I get told "do what you've been doing but more so", which I know is coming! I'm going to do everything I can to get a pay rise and either a promotion or some sort of agreed path towards one. It would be unfair to my family not to ask, because their time with me has been significantly reduced due to my workload.

Thanks AlarmBells and good luck to you too.

i have been not asking / not getting and this is what i want to change, and your motivating post makes me more determined to start making a bit of a fuss