Furious about colleague's salary

[fightfirewithfiree]

I am this person's line manager and I just found out she earns more than me.

She does not have any special/ technical skills that I don't - her job role is what I used to do for 4 years before being promoted to management - and she's not even that good at it if I'm honest.

She has been in the organisation a year less than me.

I have been her manager for a year now. My boss is very hush-hush about salaries but I found out inadvertently her salary is £1000 per year more than mine (an administrator/ finance person showed me something she didn't realise I wasn't supposed to see).

I actually think it's ridiculous anyway that I'm her line manager and am not supposed to know her salary. Feel like leaving the organisation, feeling very devalued.

It's a really unpleasant thing to have to raise with my manager, I hate talking about money but if I'm managing someone surely I should earn more than them, I have far more resposibility for all kinds of things.

WWYD?

Absolutely go straight to your boss and demand a pay rise.
I’d be livid in this situation.

It's your salary you should be furious about, not your colleague's. Her increased income does not take anything away from you and if you take that line at your salary negotiations you will, rightly, be perceived as jealous and petty. Just focus on knowing what you are worth and insist on getting it.

Clutching at straws here, but did you definitely see her actual salary rather than her cost on a budget spreadsheet?

A lot of people saying, "negotiate" and "she negotiated better" which is unfortunately true. However, I completely understand your frustration. Rightly or wrongly, you instinctively feel that you should be paid fairly and in line with your job and if you're not, why is it up to you to negotiate more.

Certainly, employers are supposed to be ensuring that they are not penalising certain employees on pay for any reason - whether that's poor negotiation skills, gender, or other criteria.

I would demand more but yes, I think it's perfectly reasonable to consider looking for a new job. You don't feel valued or appreciated and that's nt a situation that makes for a positive work environment.

Wait, what? So in the NHS length of service supercedes role - have I understood that correctly? But surely when you're promoted or apply internally for a higher position you are awarded a higher salary?

I think that being furious that she is "below you" responsibility-wise but earning more is ridiculous. You haven't given any context about her experience, whether she's been in the industry much longer etc. I think you'll be surprised at how many people have more responsibility but not necessarily much higher pay. I've certainly managed huge teams but not for more pay because some people in my team had been in the profession for 20+ years and I was mid twenties. However, when I was promoted it was a considerable pay rise for me and helped me get to where I am now in my career.

Were you happy in your job before realising this? Why does her income make you furious? If you are doing far more work than her and are a credit to the company then of course it's right to start a discussion but I'd leave her out of it otherwise it sounds like you have a vendetta against the other person.

So she negotiated a higher wage recently? Looks like your company is prepared to pay more. Go ask for it. You can say you’ve become aware of her pay rise. You don’t need to say how.

if they turn you down, start looking for a new job. There are a lot of vacancies at the moment.

This is why they discourage ‘salary’ talk in the workplace so they can get away with this stuff.

unfortunately its always women who downplay themselves and don’t push.

OP- if you think your work deserves a higher salary then negotiate and if they don’t come back with what you want then is it possible to find a similar role somewhere else?

My friend recently had a similar issue, they said they ‘couldn’t afford her raise atm’ but they will review in the new year, she started going on interviews and got a similar role with LESS responsibility for a higher salary.

the recruiter who found her the new role told her loyalty and understanding means nothing these days to companies everyone is replaceable , the most common way to get to the top of your salary ‘ladder’ in your field is to move jobs frequently like every couple of years.

So you're enraged about a coworker earning £2.73 a day more than you? (Before tax)
Get off your high horse and ask if you can have a meeting with HR to request a rise based on your own skills and responsibilities.
Your coworkers pay is nothing to do with you and should be privare, just as your salary should be to other employees.
If you feel undervalued negotiate your worth, don't mention anyone else's salary but your own. Your employer will either agree and raise your salary or not. If you're not satisfied with the out come negotiate your worth elsewhere in you next job interview.
It's not your coworkers fault so don't target her with your bitter thoughts.

Yes, but as a manager hers should be more than the other employee, so she is potentially £8-£10 per day underpaid.

@fightfirewithfiree I'd be going in requesting a £7k pay rise and expecting to walk away with £3-4k....

Not in the purest of senses, but often band 7s are not allowed to do as many unsociable hours, which means that their pay rate can be less than they got on band 6. Band 8s often aren't allowed to claim overtime - it's just seen as the hours to get the job done.

@saleorbouy this isn't her co worker. It's someone she manages. Big difference. Absent any specialist skill set a manager should be getting paid more than their reports and OP has said she used to do the same job before promotion.

OP normally advice is that you don't negotiate by comparison to someone else, but here I absolutely would bring it up. Don't say how you know, just that you know. Even if the situation is she quit and negotiated a higher salary to stay, you as her manager should have known she quit.

That said, I don't think I could work somewhere where this could happen without knowing. I would feel it undermined me as a manager. I would be looking for something else regardless of whether I got a pay rise (unless it was a very large one and came with an abject apology and confirmation I would be involved in the future - which seems pretty unlikely).

Raise it with your manager. Dont be pissed off at the other person though, i doubt they know what your salary is and if they have managed to get themselves a pay rise in the last year then good on them. Your pay isnt this other persons problem.

I've worked in several 'blue chip' UK companies & often managed people earning substantially more than me (I was in IT). I quickly realised there's was little point in fretting about it, they certainly were'nt going to get a pay-cut so I either asked for a raise, looked for a better-paid job or just got on with it. 90% of the time I did the latter, and I still don't regret it.

either she came from a well paying job so they couldn’t drop her that much or she argued/ threatened to walk out. I don’t think you can be mad at her but I think you should try to renegotiate

thats your fault for not being able to talk about money and ask for more! if you just sit there in hope that you will get a pay rise without asking then they will think great I can get away with paying this person less

I worked as an office manager in an IT company and one of the IT lads found out I was on 4k more than him - he was raging - he'd been there 6 years - but they offered me less and i negotiated and got more - then at every appraisal I requested more and could justify my reasons

In current job I get a pay rise most years too - I speak up - say why I deserve it

You say you are a manager yet you can't even speak up for yourself and negotiate more money!

I had a similar situation - someone I was training up rather than directly LM was two levels below me and earning 5k more.

My salary was increased slightly, but I was always the lowest paid. I was on 38k and everyone else on 40-45k.

I left and negotiated 64k with my new company.

@Laughingoverspiltmilk coworker or manager it doesn’t really matter in some industries. Just because you show the ability to manage ppl doesn’t mean you automatically get more!! The ppl you manage could have phd’s or technically more experience.

@saleorbouy is right it’s a minuscule amount to be furious over tbh

Forgot to mention, they then replaced me with three people, all of whom are on between 30-45k.

By not giving me 45k, it’s cost them approx 110k per year.

I did give context. I said she has been there a year less than me, is less qualified than me and has less responsibility. But happens to be pals with my manager.

I don't have a vendetta against her at all. I like her a lot actually and I would not want to take anything away from her. But I am annoyed that I manage her, she has less time in the organisation than me, lower lever skills, yet is paid more.

I am annoyed that my manager has allowed that to happen.

OP has said that's not the case though - no specialist skills/experience.

It's also not the case that this person negotiated more on taking the role - this pay rise has come whilst in role. They may have threatened to quit but I'd not be ok with not being informed of that - it is deliberately being kept out of the loop. If there's a genuine reason someone you manage should be paid more than you, then you should know and then you have to suck it up. It shouldn't be hidden and in this situation I'd suspect the employee knows they're paid more and has been asked to keep quiet.

Of course it's not the employee's fault but OP is right to be fuming at her own boss who agreed this. Depends how many options she has for other jobs but I wouldn't be staying long if I was employable elsewhere!

The website Ask a Manager is very good on stuff like this. Mainly on giving people who have been stiffed a form of words to use so that (legitimate) complaints about bad treatment don't come across in a way that might make the manager or the employer defensive, and also on allowing your manager to save face. (Which you might not care about right now, but helping them to save face is going to help you achieve your goal of being fairly paid, if that's what you ultimately want.)

www.askamanager.org/

I meant beyond your own company. Has she worked in the industry, or similar, for more years?

If she's friends with the manager though that could be dodgy and in that case you're probably fighting a losing battle.