so gutted about my payrise, how do i respond?

cakey

its a bit long winded so i apologise.

I have worked for a company for the last 3 years, i started on a really low basic, then % commision. This has never changed for the last 3 years and i have never asked for any payrises.

Last year i earned the company a fortune which was great as i earned a nice amount of commision, but i had to work so hard, extra hours to do this. i then went on Mat leave, somebody too over my accounts and has basically earned peanuts, so that when i came back my accounts were in tatters. it is going to take me a year to sort the mess out.

To top things off i came back from Mat leave early to help out as they sounded desperate and kept pushing for me to come back.

Just before i left for Mat leave my boss said i could work from home when i came back one day in the office, the rest at home, and as i could look after my DS then really i may only do 4 days worth of work rather than 5, instead of paying me pro rata they would keep my wage the same, this would be my payrise. Brill, i was happy with that.

So roll forward to my first week back. Even with looking after DS i ended up doing more than 5 days worth of work, so i approched my boss and ask that my payrise be reviewed as because of the extra hours i had put in, there wasnt really a payrise due to the amount of work i was doing.

they asked me to put it in an email so i did, they came back to me and said that they would increase part of my commision (an element of it) which usually isnt paid until sometimes a year after the sale. Also it means i then have to work my !!! off again to try and get my accounts back to where they were (some are damaged beyond repair). So i may not see any reward for my efforts until a year from now. The extra commisions to me feels like i havent been rewarded for any of my past hard work with.

i hope idon't sound ungrateful, but my basic is shocking, the commision is a bonus that i get or the hard work i put in, so i though an increase in the basic would be a reward from the company for the hard work..

i guess my question is should i accept this, if not how can i put it to them without sounding ungrateful that this doesn't feel like a payrise at all Or am i just been greedy and should be grateful for anything at all

Googlewhacker

you do sound ungratefeful, you have just been on maternity leave, they then allow you to adjust your hours and reduce your work down to 4 days a week and keep your pay the same.

It's your choice to do more than 5 days a week work, if you don't want to then don't

If you don't like the basic pay then I suggest you look for another job.

Your employer must really like you but you will only be able to push them so far.

cakey

they havent said i can do i 4 day week. i have to work a 5 day week and they are assuming i wont do the full 8 hours each day, they assume i would really only do 4 days. After starting bacuse of the workload i have to do i am doing above my hours over the 5 days.

i forgot to mention, the reason they offered for me to work from home is the re located the office whilst i was on leave 200 miles away.

KiKi

I agree with GW. You're supposed to do four days a week - so do that and don't work the fifth day. If you choose to do it, that's yourchoice. It may seem like you have no choice, but you do.

I know someone who used to work four days a week, but always checked emails on the Friday and then felt she had no choice but to reply to her boss if she contacted her. But you do have a choice. If it can't be done in four days, then leave the rest to someone else, or tell your boss what you won't be doing.

You have, in effect, been given a c20% payrise by doing four days instead of five for the same pay. You now have to manage your time to make sure you're only doing four.

HTH
KiKi

musashi10

No, you don't sound ungrateful or greedy. I have been in similar positions before.

The best method I have found is to show your value to the company.

So make up a small presentation, showing empirical evidence of how much money you have made them, how much money they have lost without you + if it hel;ps at all, document other market rates.I would also say that because you know have extra responsibilities in your personal life, that any extra pay be added to the basic pay rather than comission, because you have many extra costs on a weekly basis.

Good luck.

Googlewhacker

cakey wrote: »

they havent said i can do i 4 day week. i have to work a 5 day week and they are assuming i wont do the full 8 hours each day, they assume i would really only do 4 days. After starting bacuse of the workload i have to do i am doing above my hours over the 5 days.

i forgot to mention, the reason they offered for me to work from home is the re located the office whilst i was on leave 200 miles away.

Well what does your contract actually say, 5 days or 4, either way do what the contract says.

pjcox2005

One point that stood out was the following line:

'The extra commisions to me feels like i havent been rewarded for any of my past hard work with.'

Yet the point is you have already been rewarded for that work by the comission and effectively you are asking to be rewarded twice.

Best way to approach is to raise it with your boss in a polite manner, saying you were disappointed with the current salary because.... (give valid reasons e.g. industry comparison, a reflection of the earnings you make for the company i.e. profit, not just the total sales figure and certainly don't link it to your own lifestyle).

You then have three things happen - one they give you a payrise, two they point out they've been flexible up to this point and may start becoming less flexible if they feel it's not appreciated (whether they give you a payrise or not) and finally they don't give you a payrise so you will have to choose to suck it up or look for a job elsewhere.

No harm in asking as long as you do it professionally and accept any consequences/points raised from there part.

cakey

thanks for all of your replies. i agree with everyone which is makes this even harder. i also realised i missed out that the promoted me to Account director prior to mat leave, yet i am paid the same rate as the other sales guys on both commision and basic.

i know this job and for me to achieve the commision i earnt the year i left i was working 10 to 12 hours a day, its not achievable on a 4 day basis, i realised this in week 1. would love to just shut off on day 4 but thats impossible with clients who have deadlines. For example i do quotes for my clients and may have to change these 5 to 6 times a day as they keep coming back with changes, these quotes take from 30 mins up to an hour to do correctly. Plus due to the company restructuring, no one else can cover my work as i am the only one who knows how to, the girl that covered me was let go.

i guess i am trying to work out what is best for me financially, the extra commision is great, but i wont see it for a year.

sooo confused


BTW my contract says 5 days

Googlewhacker

cakey wrote: »

thanks for all of your replies. i agree with everyone which is makes this even harder. i also realised i missed out that the promoted me to Account director prior to mat leave, yet i am paid the same rate as the other sales guys on both commision and basic.

i know this job and for me to achieve the commision i earnt the year i left i was working 10 to 12 hours a day, its not achievable on a 4 day basis, i realised this in week 1. would love to just shut off on day 4 but thats impossible with clients who have deadlines. For example i do quotes for my clients and may have to change these 5 to 6 times a day as they keep coming back with changes, these quotes take from 30 mins up to an hour to do correctly. Plus due to the company restructuring, no one else can cover my work as i am the only one who knows how to, the girl that covered me was let go.

i guess i am trying to work out what is best for me financially, the extra commision is great, but i wont see it for a year.

sooo confused


BTW my contract says 5 days

As you have a family now I guess you have to either accept that you won't hit the levels you did before because you had no commitments before and could do the long hours or you have to find a way to juggle both.

cakey

thanks for your replies. i think i have now got a diplomatic response, will see what happens. Either way i guess a rise is a rise