No pay rise for me but for other members of the team

[colnelcustard]

I work for a call centre in a small team of five in the evenings.

I learnt today that I am not getting a payrise, I accepted this with grace as I thought the team as a whole were not getting rises, we had been informed by letter that this may be the case.

My colleague said to me when I came back in 'its great isn't it completely unexpected'.

So clearly this means she has a payrise.

We do the same job, so why her and not me? I am the highest call taker on the team consistently, I work very hard in the short space of time that I am there.

Can I appeal this decision, it seems really unfair!

Why do you think she's had one and not you? There will be a reason, fair or unfair, and understanding that will help you deal with it.

Your first step is to speak to your line manager, say that you are aware some of your colleagues have had pay rises and you haven't, and asking him/her to explain why not. Then once you've done that you can decide what if any action you want to take in terms of a formal appeal or grievance or whatever.

I wrote to HR asking them to explain how the decision process works.

Two years ago, I did have quite a bit of time off sick which culminated in me having an operation. I was spoken to about it in January 2009.

Last year I had three days off due to migraines which I have explained to the company that I suffer from. I have also advised them that I take all reasonable steps to prevent myself from getting them but clearly they are unavoidable.

I also had swine flu. I contacted the HR and followed the procedures. I was told how much time to have off. This was anothet three days which I took off on the company's say so.

Following this, I have had no further 'meetings', no action was supposedly held against me.

This is the only reason I can think of. We both work hard, so I cannot see why I should be punished for something that happened two years ago (no one was given a payrise last year). So have not had one for two years now.

I get paid an absolute pittance as it is, get spoken to like shit by the general public daily and just feel like I've been kicked in the teeth a bit.

That might be the case, but try not to assume. Go and ask your manager why and then take it from there. We'll help if we can!

Are you sure that you are all paid the same in the first place?

i was going to sat what claricebeansmum said - maybe you were on a higher rate before??

I really wouldn't have recommended contacting HR. Managers don't like people going over their heads generally, and in this case it's entirely likely HR haven't got a clue why you haven't had a payrise. They will be able to tell you about the salary review process but they won't be able to tell you why a decision was made by management not to give you a rise this year. Even if they do happen to know, they should refer you back to your manager anyway.

Salary review process is normally some kind of variation on the following:

HR brief managers on any budgetary or policy restrictions for salary increases and outline process in terms of timescale.

Managers decide what pay rises if any they want to give and put those forward, normally to a department head or director or similar.

Once they've been agreed, they probably go to HR. HR look over them and if there are any that are outside the restrictions, or glaringly controversial, will speak to the manager to find out what's going on. They may also act as or take part in some kind of moderation exercise checking that over the whole organisation pay rises are fair.

HR then probably do the letters and manager are expected to brief employees.

Different variations obviously, some with more layers of process some with less, but basically HR not involved in actual decisions. If there is a general policy of most people not getting rises this year, they are more likely to pick up on and ask about people who do get rises than people who don't.

Talk to your manager and find out.

can i just ask if they give payrises based on certain criteria is it fair not to tell employees what the criteria?

this happened to me recently. i did not get something because in my managers mind i did not meet the criteria however when it was to late for the desciion to be changed i found out what the criteria was and showed him i certainly did meet it and was above it. but have been told thats to bad and better luck next time.

I just asked HR what the decision process was and how a decision was made.

My manager gave me my letter but basically said 'you haven't had one'

'they' look at a number of reasons why, length of service, sick pay, position in the company.

so gave me the impression it was across the team. i then find out completely by accident its not.

i didn't know who the mysterious 'they' is, hence going to HR to ask about the decision process.

got into work last night and no email, not even an acknowledgement.

So where do I go from here?

Is it an acknowledgement/email from HR you are waiting for?

Advice about where to go from here is still to talk to your manager. You can't possibly know whether it's fair or how to address it without doing that.

Yes it was. Just even to say, this is something you need to address with your line manager.

Will have to see what happens tongiht. if nothing is said then I will approach her.

I used to be a manager in a call centre and this is not unusual where i came from. The payrise was based on individual performance targets and end of year performance ratings. Do you have these in your role? I agree re speaking to your manager, just ask to speak to them and ask the question why you have not got one, what are the critera and what would you hae needed to ahve done to get one. It may well turn out to be a very small difference between you and they other person. But it is something to look into and there is normally a deadline to get these things overturned but it can happen.

I don't know when you contacted HR to know how soon it would be reasonable to expect a response, but I think it's really neither here nor there really. Your manager will be able to tell you the reasons for you not getting a pay rise. It could be as simple as your colleague being underpaid previously. Once you have the reasons you can decide if and how to address it. If it's something your manager had no control over and disagrees with, he/she should help you fight your case if that's an option.