stringing me along for a pay rise? any thoughts?

[kelli22]

Hi,
Ok where do i start, i'll try and keep this brief.
i started my new job about 8 months ago and in interview was told the pay would be £13,000, however when i was offered the job they said that i didnt have the skills they would have liked so initially they would pay me £11,500 i agreed thinking this was only going to be for the initial 3 months.
At my 3mth review i asked for the extra money and was declined - i still didnt have the experience they needed etc.
At my 6 mth i asked again by now i had found out i was pregnant, they declined me again, even though the probation period was over and they were happy with my work, i have been doing my job perfectly well for the whole of the 6 months (if i hadnt they would have sacked me or reduced my responsibilites - i think.)
Anyway i said it wasn't good enough.
i'm paying petrol and childcare (which is costing me almost half of what i earn) i'm earning less than i was in my previous job, which was 5mins down the road, i am now travelling for an hour a day but as i'm pregnant i know i can't get a job anywhere else, plus i feel entitled to this rise.

They agreed to monitor my work and progress for 8 weeks and possibly at the end if i reached my targets i may get my rise. i'm now 7 weeks into this monitoring period and i feel they are nitpicking at my work to try and justify me not getting my rise again.

By the way i have easily achieved all targets set.

i'm the only person that does my job and i know the previous person got £15,000, i feel that they are trying to get what they can out of me for as little as possible. i am 22 weeks pregnant and they are not letting up on the pressure or stress they are creating for me, if i knew they would give me the money it might not be as bad (because at least my money worries would ease slightly) but i feel they will say no because i'm pregnant.

Any ideas on what i can say to them if i don't get my rise?

Thanks

It certainly does sound like they are trying to keep you at a low level, so I tink you are right to pursue a more realistic salary. At the moment, they are going through the correct motions with the reveiw process so you need to let them do that and come up with whatever conclusions they decide.

After that, if you are still unhappy with their decision or the outcome financially, you need to lodge an offical appeal. How this all works out really depends on the company you work for, so if you work in a big multi-department organisation they will have a pre-established HR dept that knoiw the ropes and how to handle such a situation. If however, you work for a small company that really only has two levels of management (you and them!) it is trickier as they are likely to view any such appeal claim with disrespect and not take you seriously. At which point is likely to get more serious to pursue and mens thinking very hard about what is best for you in the long run (leaving and getting a better wage/treatment somewhere else after having the baby or pursuing a claim through a tribunal).

So forst step is to let them finish their 'review' and see what they say at the end. If they come back with "you still aren't up to our standards" ask them to detail how and where they feel that to be the situation. You could even ask them to compare your work with that of your predecessor (as you have no current direct comparision) and hopefully that would prove you are in fact up to the same standard. It might be an idea to produce some data about yourself abnd the work you do, to highlight how well you do work and the achievements you have made in the space of time.

As I say after that, if they do not listen and take on board your claims you will need to take it higher and lodge an offical appeal against the decision - preferably with a higher Manager or directly with HR. If you don;'t have that setup organisationally.....I would suggest having a long hard think about whether they are ever going to see your point of veiw. If not, would it be worth considering staying until you go on Maternity and then just not returning to that job?

Hope that helps....

Hi Runtus thanks for replying, it's only a small company and the HR manager is my line manager, i think she feels i deserve it as she hired me and sits next to me, so see's how hard i work but unfortunatly it's not up to her and she's doing everything she can, i feel their expectations are too high, if they say no i am going to feel i'm not good enough and i don't like feeling like that
my "score's" for the last 6 weeks are between 98.6% and 100% so if they say no there will be no jusifiable reason and i will have given my all in return for nothing, it's a very sad situation, i'm not planning on going back anyway as i feel it's alot of travelling with a small baby, also i can't afford childcare so i plan to start my own business from home.
This is not the point though, i wouldn't have left my last job had i known the pay wouldn't be increased after the initial period. i feel cheated and used.
But as you say if they don't give it me i have no choice but to accept it as i can't work anywhere else, i can't believe in this day and age when there are so many rules protecting pregnant women i can be treated this badly (though i shall be taking those words back if they do give me the raise)

Hi Kelli, horrid isn't it? Saldy it isn't only pregnant women that can suffer at the hands of an unfair employer. It's all such a grey area and even when you do know what to do, it can be more expense and trouble than it's worth to take them on.

Hope they do realise the good work you are doing and you get the reward you deserve. Try to concentrate on the new baby and not let it get you down.....hard I know

hi just thought i'd drop a quick note to say they gave me half of what i had expected but as i'm only there for 10 weeks i'm not going to argue even though i deserve all of it its just not worth the stress. here's to having my baby and moving on with my life