Red Circled

[Mcgil]

Hi, hope someone can help,

Can my employee red circle my wages with out telling me,

Our pay rise was 2% and I was told with everyone. Yet I haven't had my rise. I have asked the team manager who assured me I hadn't been red circled and it was a mistake, but today she told me it looks like I have. Are they allowed to do this with telling me first when I still do extra in my work??

What does your contract say about pay rises?

What does "red circle" mean?

Red circled, or red ringed, means your salary has been frozen on an individual basis, which is usually because you are paid more than other people doing a similar job and they need to "catch up". It's a soft way of evening out anomalies in salaries.

What flowery said. We use the annual salary increase to help even out the departments. Those that have received salary increases, new starters and those that have received disciplinary actions are exempt.

Any one not in the above but still considered exempt will have this explained to them in a one to one.

Did you at the very least receive a letter?

if your job entails more responsibility/extra work, then you're not doing "a similar job" to someone else, so, technically, no, they can't.

you need to raise this with HR.
and yes, they have to tell you.

nickelbabe Having more responsibility than someone else or doing more work than them doesn't entitle you to a salary increase every time they have one, so there's no "technically they can't" about it.

Similarly they don't "have to tell you" that you're not getting a pay increase or explain the reasons, although of course they should in terms of good management and communication.

Most people are not contractually entitled to pay rises which is why I asked the OP what her contract says on the matter.

Assuming the contract doesn't guarantee pay rises, then the only legal constraints on salary decisions are that people must be paid the minimum wage and must not be paid less/treated less favourably for discriminatory reasons.

If there is no discrimination involved and the OP is paid minimum wage, it's up to the OPs employer to decide who gets a pay increase and who doesn't.

No I wasn't told I was being Red Circled at all, I even asked the manager if I have been ANC she assured me that I wasn't and I would get it back dated

I have put a Greivence in now so waiting to be heard now, I am in a Union so they will come with me, my issue is not the money, it's about not being told! Just think its tad rude especially when I'm left in charge on occasion.

Thanks

If I'm going to be honest, putting in a formal grievance because you weren't told as soon as you think you should have been that you are not getting a pay rise seems a little over-the-top. If the money is not the issue what are you hoping to achieve with a grievance?

Well the point is I want my pay rise! But I probably won't get it even if grievance is heard, but I am putting my point across that I wasn't told! As nickel babe says its good management communication! Plus it's the correct step to take.

Nickelbabe didn't say anything about it being good management communication.

I agree it would have been much better for them to have told you sooner, and doing so would definitely have been better management communication, but a grievance because something wasn't communicated well just seems extreme to me, tbh, and is unlikely to endear you to anyone who makes decisions about pay rises.

Hope you get what you want out of it anyway.

Thank you,