So disappointed in pay rise after going above and beyond

[workistoomuch]

I feel like I've been completely strung along by work. My job role now covers about the twice the work of what it did when I started and what I have done goes far beyond the job description. I've won awards and had really positive feedback from across the business. I've had another company who has heard about my work beg me to interview with their company with 3 different roles (I turned down two and didn't get one, they said because notice period was too long so a handover wouldn't be possible, or maybe they had someone better, who knows). I thought I really wanted to stay where I work and was excited about some upcoming projects I was leading.

I'd talked about a salary increase last year and said I was looking for 10% to keep up with inflation, there didn't seem to be objection to this. I've just heard I'm getting 3.5% and I am so disappointed. I feel like they are absolutely taking the piss out of me to be honest and I just feel like all my hard work is for nothing. They are talking about a promotion later in the year but frankly if it's going to be for another below inflation poxy pay rise I'd rather not bother.

I'm thinking about asking my manager to have a meeting where I discuss the scope of my role and say I would like to see exact salary and promotion by x date, with a planned date of promotion if I meet criteria by then. I am tempted to ask to have my job description and official title changed based on all the extra work I am now doing. Would that be ok?

I feel so disheartened and am currently updating my CV which I'm so sad about as there are so many part of the company I loved and I thought I wanted to be here long term. :(

Unfortunately we aren’t all in a position to demand salary increases, and many firms (including mine) take advantage and when you exceed expectations that level of commitment becomes what is expected.

I was recently asked if I thought I would be more productive if I went back to being office based. I said I didn’t think so, but that I definitely wouldn’t be in the office 8am to 7pm when I am contracted for 7.5 hours a day.

Also, past experience tells me you get a better increase on moving,

You generally need to move to get a decent pay rise unfortunately.
Its so shortsighted of employers to let experienced staff go but they just don’t seem to get it.
sorry you’re in this position .

In my experience you either need to move or have an offer on the table to use as a negotiating tool in order to get a significant pay rise.

By all means have the discussions, but realistically all they may do is tell you what you want here about “the future” and offer plenty of promises.

they can change you job title and description, but if they aren’t going to change to amount hitting your bank account each month then doesn’t matter.

Personally I’d be looking elsewhere for a new role outside company.

If you don't like it, leave. This is how things are at the moment. I haven't had a pay rise in 4 years. I'm sorry, but you sound like a petulant child.

I had similar frustrations not long ago, all I needed to do was apply for a different role (in the same, enormous organisation), that spooked them enough to take me seriously and I got a long overdue promotion and pay rise.

This year I was offered another position with another company. When my current job heard they offered me an almost 20% raise. I hadn’t had a raise in 12 years before that.

I wondered if you were my dh for a minute. He didn’t take a holiday for 6 months to cover his role and his bosses role under the impression “when it all quietened down” he would get the promotion. Which he did but not for the bosses wages (not even half) and they aren’t employing anyone in his old role. I have suggested going to a headhunter and at the very least seeing if there’s anything else out there.
I amnt workshy but I no longer do anymore than I’m paid for because if you do it for free they’ll take it for free.

Ignore the ironically named@Blowyourowntrumpet .You don't sound like a petulant child at all. I find that getting a position in another job is the best way to negotiate.
Sometimes a fresh start is what you need, but sometimes a push makes an employee realise what they have got.

Don't be a wet blanket. Their offer is really shit and you're being treated like shit.

Just because you're bitter doesn't mean other people can't feel undervalued for their hard work. I haven't had a pay rise either, but that doesn't mean other people shouldn't expect one.

I bet you don’t support strikers either do you.

The OP does not sound like a petulant child, they sound like someone who values their worth and thinks they should be rewarded fairly.

Without assuming anyone’s sex here, we do know amongst a number of other things, one of the reasons we have a problem with gender pay gaps in this country is because women don’t negotiate as well as men.

No one should undersell themselves. It’s not the OP’s fault you haven’t had a pay rise and it doesn’t mean they deserve one any less.

i was in this position once and realised that pay rises simply don't happen for working harder or doing more - if you do those things you just end up getting expected to continue doing so for the same salary.

you can get payrises for taking on a higher level of responsibility, which doesn't necessarily mean doing more, it can mean becoming the leader who enables and mentors a number of junior staff to do what you used to do for example, especially if that gives your own line manager less to worry about.

it's the seniority level at which you are operating, and the autonomy with which you are trusted that matters, not the volume of what you achieve.

Thank you. To be fair, I feel like having a sad childish cry tonight but I'm on LinkedIn researching jobs instead ha!
Why do companies do this, surely it's better for everyone to have longer term employees instead of going through the cost of replacing people.

That's exactly what I've done. I now have junior team members I am coaching and developing in the more tactical parts of my roles, giving me the time to work on higher impact activities. Line management was not originally part of my role.

well in that case you need to jobhunt and get another offer in hand. when you are ready willing and able to hand in your notice if they say no is the only time they have to care. if you keep on doing the job and don't leave then the pay level is correct.

No she doesn't she sounds like someone who knows her worth! It's not a race to the bottom you know.

@workistoomuch Honestly, I'd probably start looking around. You're clearly good at what you do and with inflation the way it is, you've effectively had a pay cut. If I don't get a minimum of 10% in April I'll leave. Absolutely no question at all.

I got a 3.5% budget to dish out to my employees. To reward higher achievers, I need to reduce others payrises, so definitely no room for giving 10% pay rises. If your salary is well off where you think it should be, then request it to be benchmarked.

Also demanding a promotion and salary / depends on how your company is set up. If I promote someone, I have to put them in for it, Justify it and approval goes up many levels. Then another team work out the correct compensation for the role.

I’d definitely investigate the market to see what’s out there and salary ranges.

You need to ask for your role to be benchmarked against similar or regraded to reflect the content now. If you have a good manager then they'll either work to push it through/explain why they haven't been able to or you're not actually as good as you think you are. Above applies to big companies, may be different in a small one.

You need to speak the language of the decision makers. Unless you work in a very small organisation, you line manager is not a decision maker. That accolade goes to the HR Director, who is interested in two things: Not setting a precedent (giving you 10% could cost hundreds of thousands if it means others hear about it), and not being at fault for the organisation failing.

Losing too many key personnel who pull more than their fair share of weight is the way that HR Directors fail. The two words they really don't like hearing are "flight risk". You need your line manager to start talking about you as someone they can't afford to lose, and someone who knows their market worth is greater than they are being currently paid. Get your line manager to utter the words "flight risk" about you in the right meetings, and you'll get 15% or even 20%, easy.

But only if you really are pulling more than your fair share. That's the gamble .... if you don't think you could get a better job, why would anyone else? So you need to act like it. In general, the people I've promoted have had lots of spare time - or at least they made everyone believe they did. They had really time-consuming hobbies outside of work, which they told everyone they were throwing themselves into because they were "looking for a new challenge". It's code ... and everyone knew it. I never, ever, ever, promoted the person who looked and sounded like they were overburdened. And the risk is that what you perceive as extra effort, others might perceive as pointless busywork. If you are genuinely adding value, don't ask for more ... demand it. If they say no, or give you less, it just shows what they really think of you. Sorry.

Wwamd?

=What would a man do?

They’ll never learn. Find a new job for more money.

They're piss takers. Hope you find another job

Nothing wrong with asking for a job title review. I did at my previous workplace, as I was doing much higher level work than my colleagues with the same title, as well as supporting the team. He agreed and I was given a "senior" title.

No extra money though! And I was expected to take on even more work.

The whole thing was not worth it and I left for a better paying role.