Employee wants payrise after 9 months

[bctf123]

Funny one but I started off in a tiny team. I was the most junior doing admin followed by an engineer who joined as pm
I had no payrise in 4 years. He had one in this time very easily given according to him plus he is an engineer who also did 3 years as apprentice
Then we had a pm join who had minimal experience but very daring and asked for one in 9 months. I just couldn't believe it. He's a nice guy but hadn't achieved anything and told me that he wanted to chance it.
Many companies seem to advance people who haven't achieved much. It was a higher paying role than mine and they promised a payrise after completing the course they funded
while I was kept on the same role, no officially recognised advancement or courses funded even though I had questioned pay unofficially and I could've done that role

I realised on the last day ina 121 with director that I had done incredibly well. It looks like I stayed under the radar too much work wise and escalations and possibly handled things too well. They alsopanicked that my manager was hard to work with which may be another reason I was left in that role

Interesting to hear other stories similar and lessons for the future

Ask for a meeting and negotiate a pay rise

You need to ask for one.

I've left the job now as I knew my own manager was too petty to acknowledge my contribution and get me more pay (she sometimes made out I was on the make when we were alone ina very offensive way) but looking for funny stories and lessons for future

I wouldn’t stay at a company who gave me NO pay rises in four years! They’re taking the mickey. I don’t think there is anything wrong with your colleagues asking for raises though. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

I only had inflation payrises and nothing for the extra added responsibility and knowledge
I could do all 3 jobs in my team and often did including pitching in in other depts to stop things crashing on my end

Yep. This is very common - men chance it, women second guess themselves and don't ask.

I worked with a pretty mediocre guy years ago who out of the blue upped and applied for a job several grades above the one we were doing. Before his interview I expressed surprise that he ticked all the "essentials" on the job spec. He shrugged and said he didn't but he was giving it a punt anyway.

He got the job.

Re: pay rises, if you're in an org that doesn't have a payscale with scheduled progression, pay rises are solely to retain you, not reward you. If they can keep you without paying you more then they'd be insane not to do so.

That's awful! I also wouldn't stay somewhere that didn't give me a single pay rise in four years

I do think that project managers, geophysicists and engineers are 'the talent' in engineering companies and admins are seen as "well anyone can do that". I was an admin in an engineering company too btw! To a degree I did understand that I was probably more replaceable than a geophysicist...also they had access to sensitive data and they didn't want them going anywhere! So maybe some of that plays into it.

she sometimes made out I was on the make when we were alone ina very offensive way
On the make?! Unless she was volunteering and went to work out of the goodness of her heart that's bloody rich of her. Everyone goes to work to earn money and everyone would like to be paid the most they can get for the job. She sounds like a right twat who was keeping you down and you're well out of it.

That makes sense and one of my colleagues said this to me. It was a bluffing game and I left although I didn't mention pay as biga factor as it was and imo they pretended pay was never an issue.
I was 33 earning close to what people in Amazon warehouse make even though I was overseeing 60% of revenue which included my managers role. The rest was between 4 people.
Only people who don't know better or have low confidence stick around for more than a couple of years earning close to nmw for high level duties

The funny thing was she wfh after COVID and often went off radar.
I did the legwork for a lot of emergencies as shed ring me and force me to pick up the issues, even driving stock in my own car to the old site 20 miles away during a move to ensure it was shipped
I filled the gap on training the new people on our team, advising on issues and resolutions and filling in gaps in other teams that would affect mine and her dispatches.
A lot of people complained to me about her and work ethic including senior managers and the new team members whod end up asking me to provide comments on her work and dept because she didn't understand
Shed often sign off early on calls to eat a breakfast a husband brought her lol
It was annoying to completely have someone's back and then be questioned.
There was the odd day in a month I might read the news all morning but I did it in full sight and people said it was justified based on my productivity for mine and her role.

I once tried to remove the headset on a call when she accused me but it went on mute and everyone missed it in the office

As PPs said, he asked and asked confidently. I've seen so much of this kind of thing, and that managers respond differently even when a woman has a strong case.

You made the mistake of expecting extra recognition and reward for tasks you were already doing anyway without those.