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?

My DH has had this a few times in his career - in all cases it has resulted in him getting a pay rise, didn't stop him being pissed off about it for a while though even if he understood the historical reasons!

He was definitely allowed to know his direct reports salaries though. In the latest one he had to listen to the bloke made a bid for another pay rise and keep quiet about the fact that this man was currently paid more than him (and not that good either!). It tended to happen when he was taking over a team/had someone move into the team and he has changed jobs quite a few times.

Time to negotiate - it sounds like you are being underpaid. Hope you get this sorted out quickly OP and are happy with the outcome.

@Blanketpolicy it’s not just about hierarchy, its also skills. It’s about incremental responsibilities. Line managers should have the ability to fill in the knowledge gaps of their direct reports. I assume these line managers are also aware that their direct reports are on a higher salary (although I feel this may be problematic from a gender pay gap point of view - with more technical roles being male dominated and less technical roles being more female). I think it’s understandable that OP may be feeling less engaged as a result.

@Gumreduction It goes without saying that a conversation about salaries is different to a data breach, I don’t think it’s an unreasonable assumption that a line manager would know what salary their direct report is on. A conversation about data protection is probably needed but from an HR perspective these are now 2 separate issues as the cat has been let out of the bag, so to speak.

I actually think it’s not really your business even as her line manager. I think your salary is for you to negotiate based on you personally. If you think you are worth more then ask for it- but not worth ‘more than her’ but just worth more in your own right.
It says a lot that you feel you are being underpaid but only now you know what she is earning. I really don’t think you can hold it against her or bring up her salary in your own negotiations.
I also think £1000 a year is F all.
She might have different holiday arrangements than you for example or a different bonus structure etc… you don’t know the ins and outs of her contract. Even if you did, it’s not for you to ask simply for more money ‘than her’ but actually negotiate on your own merits and why you personally are worth XYZ.
If the company aren’t in agreement that you are worth XYZ and you really think you are, then move x

So she has obviously gone to my boss/ gone over my head in this past year, and leapfrogged me, and I haven't been informed.

you say you are pleased that she has the pay rise but annoyed you don’t.

Interesting that she chose to leap frog you and go above you. Why was that?

Do you have regular pay reviews?

I know my company will do things like hand over a pay rise to keep someone sweet but then when the next official pay review is due they just don't get as much... so they then fall back into line with everyone...

So if you are due pay rise in the new year you may be moved back up above her and she won't get as much as a rise as she would've had she not asked for one...

I once got a large promotion. I was feeling really chuffed with myself until the guy who had just vacated the post let it slip that they'd been paying him £30k a year MORE than they were paying me.

If you don't ask, you don't get.

They were happy to underpay me because to me, it was still a pay rise.

Never really forgave that company for doing that.

My DH is a manager of a technical team. Some of his team earn more than him. IT field. He has negotiated pay increases for others which puts them on a higher salary than his own too. He doesn’t believe he has the right to earn more than them. They are sought after technical people who are headhunted. He is an experienced manager but he has only been headhunted once in his whole career.

I hate talking about money

Forget about how much everyone else earns. Focus on yourself. Put together a case for increasing your salary based on the value you add to the company.

Give up your distaste for taking about money and make that case to your manager. It will not mention anything about the salaries of your direct reports.

Salaries are much more about the market rate for the job than any reflect ion on your value to the organisation. It's a truism that organisations find they have to offer higher salaries to recruit new people that they pay to people who have been around a while. There is always money to keep good people.

Far from your manager 'allow

Take this as a wake up call. Decide what you want from them, over what timescale. If they don't agree, then find a better job and walk with your feet.

For years, I worked for someone who was on a different pay scale to me I knew that I probably earned more but it was never mentioned.

Take this as the wake up call it is. Don't take it out on your direct report, this is between you and your manager.

When I worked in my previous job in IT support I was paid more than my boss and almost as much as his boss.

I had skills on legacy systems that they simply could not afford to lose. I wasn't great at my job, nor particularly quick. But I knew one old system inside out and I was the only one who did. (This is really the holy grail of tech support!)

When they gradually replaced that system and were talking about moving my post I left, took early retirement and now pootle about in a part time post, because I can.

If you are worth more money, stand your corner and tell them you want more money. But be prepared to leave if you don't get it, because a "no" tells you your value to them.

Far from your manager allowing this to happen, they are serving the interests of the organisation to secure your services for the lowest possible cost.

This is their job.

Managers don't always earn the most in a team though do they?

A manager of a technical team may well earn less than the techie wizards he manages. In the same way that some top sales people earn more than their managers.

I’ve been In your situation and my direct report was on 8k more than me. I was older, had 6 years more experience and was her manager.

She was a very beautiful girl in her early twenties, everyone loved her but I had to have several words with her about her bad language around the clients. I was not allowed a pay rise as no money in the “pot”. I left when my boss called me to discuss giving her another salary increase. Asshole.

I agree with this.

I think too if you were happy with your salary and felt you were being paid your worth ie before you read about other salaries, you should still be happy.

Some colleagues will always earn more than you. I was happy with my salary whilst sitting beside a colleague (who I helped a lot) who earned 30K more than me. He had transferred into my dept from another one and stayed on his existing salary. If anything I was happy for him although at times he frustrated me because I had to sign off his work. He’s still there and on even more now. I’m pleased for him because he stayed through a lot of changes. I have no doubt his new managers are not happy they are on considerably less (half!) but he deserves credit for staying there until retirement.

Line managers should have the ability to fill in the knowledge gaps of their direct reports.

A manager of a team with various complex technical roles has no chance of filling in knowledge gaps of them all.

There are many industries where managers earn less than those that report to them. In our department you can be as successful, if not more, as a technical expert with no direct reports. Everyone knows it and appreciates each others skills and doesn't get hung up on an organagram.

We have many teams where band 5s manage band 4 (4 is higher than a 5) employees who earn much more than they do. I have done it myself, but I am professional enough to know the higher value of their skill set.

It is never as black and white that a manager should always earn more.

I’d question your performance from you posts.

You've been managing someone for a year that you think isn’t working at an appropriate level. But there’s no mention of how you’re working on that with them and apparently you’ve not fed that into your management chain.

you think they should be paid less because you have a degree and they don’t. Your management chain don’t agree.

in a year you’ve ‘accidentally’ been made aware of salary details you aren’t supposed to access.

there is a fundamental disconnect between what your management values and what you think they should value. And from this snapshot you aren’t painting yourself as a good manager.

For the record I didn't use that term and have no idea where it came from/ why it's being thrown around. I think @Gumreduction is trolling at this point.

Precisely!!!

I understood there was no overlap at the top and bottom of AfC bands any more? I think this person is saying they earn more than her as they are top of band 7 working 37.5 hours per week, and she is bottom of band 8a working 34 hours a week (only she always works more than her contracted hours). I'd say it's time to negotiate an increase in hours.

I haven't used the term 'subordinate' in any of my posts.

This. Say that you have become aware that staff you line manage are paid more than you despite being less qualified. You'd like an immediate pay review commensurate with your experience and responsibilities.

And start looking elserwhere if they aren't reasonable and prompt in negotiations. Meanwhile don't blame her. She has every right to negotiate a better salary for herself - especially in the light of rising costs. If her pay has prompted you to do the same, then she's done you a favour.

It’s absolutely nothing to do with devaluing you or not caring about you was an individual companies at the moment are paying what they can get away with under squeakiest wheel is getting the oil. I’ve brought in recent hires on 15 grand more than the person who’s managing them, and if the person who’s managing them doesn’t say a word, it won’t be discussed . And disclosing your salary is a sackable offence..

Line managers should have the ability to fill in the knowledge gaps of their direct reports.

This isn’t correct.

Many line managers oversee annual leave, coordinate projects and are the ‘go between’ between the team member and mgmt. They don’t have to have the knowledge to do the main project work themselves. Some people like the area of people mgmt and have skills they can apply to reams in many areas. Some people are good with people. For others people mgmt is their worst nightmare.

Apologies, you're right. I was going by what the goady poster was saying.

😂 well thanks for the back up, I'm a bit surprised how nasty this thread has been so am bowing out now and taking the helpful bits away. Thanks all.