Am I in the wrong?

[Kate123cl]

Hello
Just wanted a few opinions!
I'm a full-time office administrator in Bristol. I have a business administration NVQ, been working in offices for 3 years. My salary is £12,500 (was £11,500 when I wasn't qualified). Am I right in thinking this is a low wage? My appraisal is next week and wanted to discuss my salary as I think it is very poor but don't want them to turn around and say, actually it's great.
Any opinions appreciated!

How many hours is full time in your office? It does seem low for 37/40 hours a week. What does the hourly rate work out as? Is it much above nmw?

Have a look around on job sites, look for similar positions and see what salary they are offering in your area. Armed with that, you may be in a better position to negotiate if you can demonstrate that you are underpaid compared to similar roles locally.

@xyzandabc thank you so much for your advice! I work 37.5 hours which works out at roughly £6.70 an hour? On average, jobs around this area, same position would be about £15,000+. Definitely a good idea to look at other similar jobs

Hang on isn't that below NMW??

Yes just googled NMW is £7.86 and that isn't even an unskilled job you are doing.

If you salary is £6.70 an hour then it's not just wrong it's illegal!

How old are you?

@Incarnationsofunderstanding I thought so! I'm under 21 though so don't think it is below minimum

£5.90 is the NMW for 20 and below.

I earned 17k as an administrator for a low paying company so that's very very low.

NMW at those hours (presuming your 21-24) would be £13,747 so yes absolutely your underpaid.

Personally I'd be looking elsewhere as well as following these steps from Citizens Advice

She's under 21.

You are on £6.41 an hour how old exactly are you?

They are still taking the Piss though.

When I started my first admin job, unqualified and at 20 years old, I was on £16k. I would definitely bring it up as I think you deserve to be on more.

I am an office administrator in a similar area my pay scale is £19404 - £25000 it goes up every year to the next scale in addition to any other rise to do with inflation. Your pay is what I would consider an apprentice or trainee may start on, so definately have the talk.

Thanks everyone! I'm 19 to be exact. I started with the company as an office junior and then they decided to move me up to office administrator when I passed my apprenticeship only adding £1,000 PA so a bit cheeky!

My first office job (no real experience and no qualification in admin) was £15k and that was 12 years ago when I was 21. So by that standard I'd say yes it's low.

Look around and see what the market rate is. If it's more then why not ask for a pay rise to that level explaining your reasons why.

Absolutely have the talk. Frame it in what else you now bring to the role (experience, increased responsibility in role, etc), what you’ve achieved in the last year and what the current market value for that type of work is.

I’d also start applying elsewhere. You might get a raise but to put you in the £15-18k category would be a huge percentage raise and many companies won’t be willing to do that.

@MaverickSnoopy oh wow that's very interesting! Thanks for that!

@Catinthecorner I'll definitely do that! Thanks for your advice. I'll start applying elsewhere too, really dislike it here anyway haha!

Thanks everyone!

I wouldn't do that job for under 14k. I worked in a office last year and was on 18.5k at 22 years old so I'd say 14k minimum

Kate Something helpful an old boss told me when I was very young.

The company isn’t doing you a favour by employing you.

You do good work and they pay you for it.

It’s an exchange.

So if your work isn’t good enough they can get rid of you.

On the other hand if you don’t think the pay or conditions are good enough you can leave.

One if the best ways to move up is to move on. It can be a bit scary but you’ll learn lots by seeing how another company does things.

Best of luck!

It might help to show some independent data

www.totaljobs.com/salary-checker/average-administrator-salary

Have a look at jobs in your area which are similar and you are experienced / qualified to do. Are they a lot more than you are on? If so, tell your employer you want more money and list out how you're doing all aspects of your job well and how valuable you are to them. If they don't go with it, say you've seen similar jobs at x salary. And you therefore want x salary. If they say no, start applying for other jobs!

That does seem a very low wage, I would have thought you should be on minimum £14k a year looking to move up to £16-18k at least. It seems like they are getting you to do a lot of work for very little regardless of your wage. About 13 years ago I had a job paying £14k working as a receptionist in a garage.

I meant regardless of your age lol