Am I being taken advantage of ?

[Ruskyrobins24]

Hi all

I'm looking for some work advice .

I returned from mat leave in August 2015. Whilst I was off my manager left the company (actually all my old colleagues in the marketing dept left in the time I was away). Since I returned I have taken on his role. They have not replaced him and are not looking to replace him and I literally have all his objectives and report into my old managers boss. I now manage 2 ppl whereas before I managed none. I am always referred to as leading my dept in work emails by other snr staff. And I do this All on 3 days a week so I do work long hours and very hard to fit it all in.

I raised this in my review and asked for a patties and was given a rather meagre 4% and no change in job title. I feel this is unfair as he was a higher grade than me, had a 'head of' title and was paid more. I feel like I am being taken advantage of and that my career is stagnating.

The only glitch is that I'm now pregnant again (16 weeks) and I have told work. At the moment it's not actually financially viable for me to come back to work with childcare and commuting costs. I haven't told them this and I am going to say that I will return, to keep my options open.

I feel like they know as I'm having another baby they will not reward me for my work but my worry is if I do leave my cv looks like I've done the same role for 3 years, which isn't true. I think I've been a bit too timid in asking for too much as I was grateful they gave me 3 days a week,- and in the back of my mind I knew I would have another baby, but now I'm really frustrated!!!! Any tips?

I had a very similar issue OP. On return to work I absorbed a lot of work at a higher level but was refused promotion or a pay rise. I actually used my 2nd pregnancy to give work an ultimatum. In my case I couldn't afford to lose my job but I figured I'd have time to find another while on mat leave. Thankfully for me they rolled over and gave me all that I was asking for.

Perhaps you can negotiate a change in job title for your remaining time at work which will reflect well on your CV if you do move jobs?

How did you use your preg as an ultimatum? You said you'd not come back?

Sorry I can't give any advice other than agree they're taking advantage of you and that it might be worth asking MNHQ to get this moved into legal section for the evening crowd. In an ideal world they should back pay your salary at pro rata his salary as well.

Yes exactly - I said if you don't fix X, y and Z I'll be looking for another job next year. Luckily for me they didn't call my bluff and did in fact appreciate my work so they made the changes I required.

If I were you, I would make the most out of this challenge and try your best to impress. Forget a pay rise for the moment. Once you've proved you can do this, you can then aim to get them to raise your pay as op suggests.

But now, you do need to keep telling them that this role is a big challenge for you in three days a week, and is very different from the role you had been doing. Then, if you do well, it looks even better. If you do badly, you've previously given them heads up that the job was a big step up.

Did you agree to manage these staff and take on your old boss's role during your review?

If not I would stop, with immediate effect, and try to do as far as possible your old role before mat leave.

If your colleagues ask why you aren't managing them any more, explain you asked for old manager's job and were refused, so you assume that role will be filled shortly, just not by you.

They will ask you to start doing your old boss's job again, as they will have no choice, and at that point you only agree if they change your job title to your old boss's and backdate that to the point you returned. If you aren't asking for any more money, they have no reasonable grounds to refuse.