Not being paid as much as the person who did this job before me

[totallyunfair]

NC for this.

I was hired a number of years ago to take over a job from Person A who was retiring. It took a few years to learn the job due to the breadth of the work/clients etc. Person A brought these clients/the work to the company.

I was earning approx 30% less than A when I started. I always assumed salary would go up to their £X salary when I fully took over the job. Have had tiny incremental payrises over the couple of years when learning the job from A when both of us were employed.

Person A retired in 2020 so for obvious reasons the payrise did not happen - company wide decision. I flagged I wanted a payrise discussion as soon as possible.

Have had 2 pay reviews since then and after a lot of fighting I have managed some payrises but I am still on approx 16% LESS than A was 5 years ago. (A also did not do quite full time hours. And there were also other employees slightly involved in the work when A was working so A never ran the show on their own - like I do now). Company is doing well. My work is doing well. I can argue/prove/justify my worth/how I am doing the job better than A.

Company essentially refusing to pay me more. Main argument seems to be that A brought the work to the company hence they paid A £X and also implying perhaps it was too much. It was also implied to me that A wanting to retire/being closer to retirement age may have played a role in agreeing A's salary - I am generation below A so clearly if they paid me £X, plus inflation, over the years they would pay out much more. Ofc this is not something I can ever prove was said..

Is there anything I can do, short of handing in my notice? I know that they could not replace me within my notice period as there is just too much for a new person to learn so they'd just agree to pay me what I wanted. But there the 1% chance they would let me go rather than pay me more so I guess I can only do this if I am ready to go. (I'd rather not!)

Any other ideas?! Are there any rules about having to someone doing the same job as someone else the same money!? A was the same sex as me so no sex bias..

Are you the same sex (sorry, refuse to use the G word) as if not that's the only angle you can really go for legally

Sorry just saw your last sentence. No, they are entitled to pay different people doing the same role differently in that case. not fair but not illegal.

You aren't both sitting side by side doing the same job at the same time. When one person leaves and they employ another, they can offer whatever salary they like to the replacement.

Presumably you have the exact same experience, education, knowledge? You've brought the same number and same calibre of clients that A brought in?

What argument have you taken to them for a payrise other than "A was paid X". What A was paid is irrelevant, you need to be asking based on your knowledge, worth to the company, skill- set ect "

They advertised a salary you accepted it. What they paid someone else with different circumstances and at a different period of time is irrelevant.

If someone were employed into my.exact role they don't have a chance of ever earning the same money as I do without gaining a promotion because my pay banding no longer aligns with the reality of my pay after over 20 years of pay rises (even with the no rise years).

Several newer people have tried to challenge it, even the union have said the only way to achieve pay parity is to decrease my wages off you fuck with that idea so won't support further action.

Things change over time, it's quite normal for employees of long standing to have favourable contracts, whether that's holidays, pay, perks...because changing the contract is a pain in the arse compared with giving newer employees a contract that works better for the firm.

You agreed to the T&Cs if you don't like it, start looking to achieve your perceived value with another company. If your value is as great as you imagine, you may be offered more to stay. But not necessarily.

There is no automatic right to pay parity. Perhaps they re-priced A's role, perhaps they changed the job description, perhaps A joined the company at a time when everyone got 10% rises every year, perhaps A negotiated a 50% increase for bringing clients in.

Most companies use pay scales to try and keep people more or less together and to avoid the situation they got into with A - ie, paying someone more than they were worth. If they'd done that before they are going to be very wary of overpaying again!

Difficult to say too much without being too outing but I am actually more qualified than A, easier to manage (complaints about A in the past, none with me) more self sufficient etc. I've essentially had them agree that I do the job better than A, there's nothing I could do to improve (when I've specifically followed all the usual advice of asking in appraisals: "tell me what more I could be doing to justify £X" etc and the only thing that has been suggested is taking on different work on top and/or going for an additional qualification (which A did not have).

Again, without giving too much away, A did not really bring the clients in, it was A's superior who also wanted to then retire (!) so A worked with B and then it was A after B retired if you see what I mean. So A had the clients before me but didn't go and get them as such.

It's not the sort of role where it's expected to bring new clients in (although no doubt theyd not turn any away!) it's a very specific ongoing role with a lot of work that needs to be done routinely for one big batch of clients.

I do take your point though and my main argument has never really been "A was paid this so I want it" It's always been based on my own merits, with strong justifications of what I've done better than A, etc. Hence being able to get some decent payrises. I almost wish I didn't know what A was on! But I found out fairly soon upon joining (and at a time when I hated the role) and tbh only stayed as I believed I would get that when A was no longer there

Valid point in general although the first paragraphs do not align to what happened with A and myself I don't believe. I think it's simply the case of getting away with paying me what they can get away with 😕

The last paragraph is true though. I was just hoping there might be any pearls of wisdom that I hadn't thought of..

I have been contacted by recruiters for jobs with more money (one the salary of A and one less) but for less seniority and I'm trying to weigh up if I want to go down that path. I'm in a very niche role atm and nothing similar so although I could probably earn what I want elsewhere it would be less seniority and a different area.

Despite all of that the answer is the same isnt it? You've asked for a payrise they haven't given it to you. You either put up with it or leave.

Yes fair enough-- I was just giving more information to those who were implying that there might be a valid reason for the difference in pay! I appreciate that's the obvious solution. I was asking if anyone had any ideas that weren't obvious!

As @Metabigot said, if it was a man being paid £X and a woman being paid less then there would be grounds for a dispute to be raised. I was wondering if there was anything I wasn't aware of that might help- I.e. do you have a right to request evidence of what someone else was being paid for similar roles in your company or would it be something one could raise a grievance about. I thought it was unlikely but you never know!!

You can raise a grievance about whatever you like. Some companies may say yes, you have a point. Most won't.

Of course you cannot ask and expect to be shown what other people are earning (unless there are unequal pay concerns). Are you very new to the workforce? Or perhaps you have always worked in an organisation with highly structured paybands. Because you don’t see to be accepting that it really is very normal that different people can be paid different amounts for one reason or another, including that they have just been there a long time.

Ru me?! I took over from someone who was managed out, a complete malingerer who ended up with a payoff so she’d disappear. I do so much more than she did in the same role and still don’t earn what she did when she left. I’m looking at other options.