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Original poster

Would you apply?

16 replies

PooPooGirl · 07/07/2005 09:58

I'm massively underpaid in my work but my place of work is only 20mins from my house, just round the corner from DD's nursery and 10mins from paretns house etc so ideal really. Also I have a good reputation here, I've been here a number of years and have been given some fantastic opportunities which is why I ov er look the fact that I am underpaid (this is openly admitted by the senior management).

However lately I've been feeling like I'm not going to get any further easily and the pay has been bothering me more and more. Particularly as I feel I am in unecessary debt because I could earn enough to live very comfortably elsewhere.

Sorry to ramble, there is a point (honest)

I was browsing the job sites this morning just half heartedly really but I saw at least half a dozen jobs that I could do that would all mean between £10-20k rise in salary.. the downside is that they would all mean commuting for 1-1.5 hours each way everyday. Would you apply? Also is there anyone here that has small children and commutes? how do you find it? what do you do about childcare? I am a single parents so I don't have a dh that could do the extra time with dd. Any thoughts and opinions are welcome

OP posts:

marialuisa · 07/07/2005 11:16

I commute about 1h 15 min each way for work. I'm looking to get a job nearer home but this is mainly because I hate my job. DD is 4 and starts school in September, her school has early and aftercare and my employer runs a holiday playscheme. I have negotiated to work 8-4 to avoid rush hour and give me more time with DD in the evenings. I had a 5k salary increase whn i took on this job but TBH it has all gone on travel expenses and tax.

If I were you I'd try and get a payrise in your current job-is there any reason why they won't pay you more, esp as they have acknowledged you are underpaid?

Original poster

PooPooGirl · 07/07/2005 11:43

Organisation isn't fantastic at the moment - money to be allocated for payrises isn't adequite and because I'm not as badly paid as other I don't get priority. I had a nice sized one last year so realistically I haven't got a cats chance of getting naother one this year! loads of people are leaving due to remuneration!

What do you do with your DD in the morning? you must leave about7ish??

OP posts:

marialuisa · 07/07/2005 13:44

Fortunately I have a DH who drops her off at school! He does mornings and I do evenings. Aftercare runs until 6 so I have plenty of leeway with jams etc. Day nurseries round here tend to open at 7.30 and close at 6.30 though which would still take the edge off my commute if I didn't have DH and school. I commute up the M1 and then on dual carraige way so I can be quite (ahem) nippy! I don't mind the morning run (quite enjoy it in fact) but am not fussed on the evening run. I've been really surprised by how tired I am. I'm lucky in that we have help with housework, wouldn't contemplate doing it otherwise.

That's bad news about the organisation. I'm in H.E. so a bit vague about how payrises etc. work in the private sector.

SenoraPostrophe · 07/07/2005 13:50

I would not commute for less than a 20k rise, and even then it'd be temporary.

Are there any similar companies in your area who you could send a speculative cv to?

WideWebWitch · 07/07/2005 14:02

I'd apply and get a job with a £20k pay rise. I'd look into whether childcare was viable before or once I had an offer. Then I'd take that to my current company and be prepared to walk unless they upped my salary by what, £10k? £15k? Whatever you think pays you market rate taking into account the convenience factor. Your current co are relying on your inertia, go for it! I would anyway.

bossykate · 07/07/2005 14:03

agree with www.

Caligula · 07/07/2005 14:06

poopoogirl, could you perhaps get an au-pair to do the extra hours?

alternatively, look for something within the same area?

Long term, i don't think it's viable for you to stay in the job you're in at the moment - it gets too much to be so under-paid.

fsmail · 07/07/2005 21:25

I used to commute into Birmingham every day by train and I used to get really uptight because had to keep to a very tight schedule to pick up DS from Childcare. Also not viewed very well by bosses for leaving by 5:15. Now am lower paid but closer to home and nursery so much happier. However, DH works further away and both my parents worked so did not have back up. Your mother is very close so if you got stuck at least you could ask her to step in. Otherwise I enjoyed my read on the train, only time to do it.

Original poster

PooPooGirl · 08/07/2005 08:48

Wow thanks for all the posts - loads to think about!! There's a real mix of opinion.

I'd love to find a job with a £20k increase close to home but realistically I think they would be few and very far between.

I am starting to think that my low salary will start having an inpact on future jobs because people will start to wonder why I don't earn more (is there a problem etc). At the moment it's not to bad because I'm still in my mid-20's so it's easier to hide the fact that I am as under paid as I am.

An au-pair would be lovely but I live in a very small house so no room (nor money) for an au-pair.

OP posts:

LunarSea · 08/07/2005 09:52

If you were to get the other job @ £20k more, could you move closer to it to save the commute? It would do no harm to try - you wouldn't have to make a decision until/unless you were offered it, and as www says the thought that you might leave could just prompt your current employers to make it worth your while staying.

Caligula · 08/07/2005 10:17

Ppg, I don't know what industry you work in, but when I was in the private sector, people sort of assumed a certain amount and asked you what you wanted. So just ask for the 20 grand more you want. And everyone lied - at first you say you earn a couple of grand more than you do, then five, then ten, etc. So unless you actually have to declare your wage on the application form, that aspect of it shouldn't be a problem.

Toothache · 08/07/2005 10:26

Poopoogirl - I've just done exactly that! I have the interview on Monday. It will mean a rise of about £15,000 on my annual salary.... howver the downsides are: Commuting, Less job security (this is Agency work), uncertainty, longer hours.

BUT it is an opportunity that I literally cannot afford to miss. I could pay off most of my debts in 6mths (apart from the mortgage!).

My ds is 4 and my dd is 11mths. I've only been working a 4 day week since I returned to work 6mths ago and I've really enjoyed the extra time with the kids. It'll be a real wrench . They are in private Nursery at the moment.

suzyj · 08/07/2005 10:42

Hi ppg - sympathise with your dilemma, very similar to one i was in 9 months ago. DON'T do what i did and go for a job just because the money is better if everything else is harder, i.e. commute, stress, industry. I've just quit the job i got because the increase of c £5K wasn't worth it and i found that my outgoings on travel and stuff were much higher. It was the wrong choice for me, so really weigh up everything about the jobs you're applying for to ensure that you will still love it once the joy of a bigger pay packet has worn off and the grind of the commute is getting you down.

Also, Caligula, word of warning about lying about your previous salary. Your P45 will give your new employer all the info about what you were really on and they are able to revoke your contract for lying to them, if they feel like it. Be careful on this one...

Perhaps continue researching for more local jobs with more £, to see if you can retain as many of the other benefits (local to daycare and partner, etc) as possible. Or negotiate with your current employer, using the jobs you're finding as evidence. Would they give you a raise to stop you walking out the door? Or say to them, "Instead of a payrise, as you are paying me a part-time salary, I'll work part-time please!!"

Good luck!

expatinscotland · 08/07/2005 10:47

No, not for that length of commute. Been there, bought the tshirt. And burned it. And that was before I had kids.

I think I'd approach my employer w/those adverts in hand and ask for a pay increase instead.

Caligula · 08/07/2005 10:51

Blimey, that's true. But I've never heard of anyone being challenged on it. Perhaps because the companies simply accepted that it's a negotiation tool and theoretically, the fact that they're prepared to pay you a certain rate for a job shouldn't be dependent on what wage you were earning in your last job. They also don't want their current workers to know what rates they're offering new people coming in.

One of the iniquities of the private sector, nobody knowing anyone else's wage. It's carte blanche for all sorts of discrimination.

suzyj · 08/07/2005 10:57

i agree Caligula, not fair. in my old company, they got away with murder, paying all the members of a team of five people doing the SAME JOB different wages based on the least they could get away with paying them. It leaked out, as it usually does in smallish companies, and there was a ruckus, i can tell you!

I guess the P45 thing would only be invoked if they felt they were being taken for a ride or if you'd negotiated really hard to push up their offer, based on a lie. I read this piece of advice on a job website though, so i guess it does happen. Am jobhunting too at the moment - so clearly mumsnet is the place to be. I am so norty...

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