So I have two STEM Masters degrees and work in a technical industry and have 25 years experience.
I work as a consultant for a company who sells their time to big organisations.
They have renegotiated their contract with the customer I work for. The cut this interim company takes is about 20%. I work from home so they provide me with an email account, timewriting etc and that's about it. I don't use the office and have my own IT equipment.
They have offered me a 15% pay rise as they have negotiated a new contract with the client.
This seems very generous but clearly they will still be taking their 20% on top of this.
I know one of my colleagues is trying to negotiate for a higher rise.
Despite having been 15 years in the industry I have never been in this situation before! Ridiculous I know!
So the question is how do I work out what to ask for? Do I ask for 20% just to see if I get it? I guess they can only say no!?
How can I work out my 'worth' without asking others what they are paid which is a big social no no in the UK. I have looked at a couple of industry salary surveys but there are not enough respondents for the data to be useful to me.
What are senior managers car allowances etc worth these days? What other allowances are there? I have been self employed for some 15 years so its hard to know what my salary would be. I suspect for paying for my pension etc I am not actually paid that much?