Pay Related to Age - Age Discrimination?

bluenoseam

lawrie86 wrote: »

I don't really think I'm in the wrong, the wage slip was left out on a desk, I didn't actually touch it, they can check for fingerprints

When discussing the possibility of fuel cards in a recent meeting, it was stated that we had to be careful due to approaching the higher tax band "well everyone but me", so it is common knowledge.



In what way do you mean Gav? What facts need to be established? We work very closely and all of our worked is logged into a system so we can all see what each other is upto and how we are performing.

Regards
Lawrie

That doesn't wash, it was private information which you had no right to view, while a case could be made for the fact it was sitting out, it's not as if it was beamed on 10ft high lettering onto a wall where seeing it was unavoidable. While it might be common knowledge it's also unconfirmed common knowledge, for all you know said person could have been being funny.

Truth is this person sacked up and either asked for a higher starting salary than you (well, in your defense you were probably more modest) or has asked for a sizeable wage increase. Either way it goes, it's not really any of your business now is it.

SarEl

I have to agree. Discriminatiuon claims require you to prove that discrimination has occurred. That means you must demonstrate not that older people get paid more that you, but that they get paid more than you because they are older. And I just don't see how you can evidence that. Such major pay anomolies are common in the private sector - less so in the public sector because of stricter gradings ad evaluation sof job roles. But then, most public sector agencies can't afford an IT professional who actually knows anything past "have you tried re-booting it?" for that reason - pay is generally much lower than in the private sector where you pay for a skill that you need. If these guys were "needed" then the employer would have paid what was required to get them - and they also paid what was required to get you! If you want a pay rise (one way or another) then the best stategy is to find someone who needs you more than your current employer does and is prepared to pay for that privilege. Then if the employer wants to keep you they come to the table.

getmore4less

The problem you have is you started at 19 they started at 29+ allready with experience around the same time

They were paid more then cant use age you are a trainee

They are paid more now you all got pay rises.

They will probably show the gap has been closing that would blow any age claim out

So they are on package around £42k and you £36k.

Time to justify a pay eise if you can(as has been said no reference to the others pay).

whitelabel

On a slight tangent, doesnt mcdonalds pay staff under 18 less than those over 18. they do the same job same role, yet due to their age get a different rate.
burger king pay the same rate based on role not age (well they did over 10 years ago when i worked there)
maybe it differs due to under age, but if they can and do, it mustnt be discrimination at any age.

SarEl

Yes this is allowed. Want to know something even weirder? Technically someone under the age of 18 cannot work at all unless it is to "save their life". It's an odd quirk of British law that has never been repealed - someone under the age of 18 cannot enter into a contract unless that contract is required to protect their existence. So technically they can sign consent to a life-saving operation, or get a job if the alternative is literally that they will starve to death - but they cannot freely enter into a contract because they want to! It's such an old law that it exists only in the terms of its generally being ignored (although not always) by lots of people. A bit like you can still be a privateer (but not a pirate) if you can convince the Queen to make you one!

getmore4less

So under 18 you can walk out!

send that round facebook.

Does a legal contract come into existance if you continue working past 18

Annisele

The law is *weird* sometimes.

Though I'd hope a court/tribunal would give short shrift to an employer who decided not to pay his 17 year old employees on the grounds that their contracts were invalid!

2sides2everystory

If this were a decent country with a decent employment market then there would be a decent union which every worker would want to belong to so that indecent differences like this could be ironed out by firm negotation with no fear of retribution on the underpaid worker.

But most things about the UK market are indecent and become more so by the day.

Everyman for himself. God help us all.

SarEl

getmore4less wrote: »

So under 18 you can walk out!

send that round facebook.

Does a legal contract come into existance if you continue working past 18

Technically yes, you can walk out - but since no contract exists then they also don't have to pay you! To be honest, like I said, it's one of those quirky things more observed in the non-observance. I seem to think that someone once told me that you can still get transported for sheep stealing, or some such thing - although I am not sure what immigration officials in Australia will think of that! There are often laws that get "missed" when new laws pass and never get repealed. But I am not sure I would try testing them out.

But this one is observed in some cases still - it's why an under 18 year old cannot get credit, a loan, or sign a mobile phone contract - if you contract with an under 18 year old you cannot enforce the contract. It can be got around by making a guarantor liable for payment.

InsideInsurance

No, there is a contract, even with a minor (ie someone under 18) however that contract is not considered binding on a minor unless it is for essencials.

If you successfuly argued a contract of employment is not binding on the minor the company would still be liable to pay them for the work they had already done. That said, most contracts of employment are binding on minors where they are not considered unfair or unduely disadvantage the minor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacity_in_English_law#Contracts_for_employment


As to the OP, others have already hit the nail on the head, to increase salary switch employers, staying within an organisation can accelerate your seniority (or not) but will almost never accelerate your salary. Several years ago I was working as a Project Manager in an organisation I had worked my way up through and my colleagues were not only earning £6,000 more than me but in one case he was earning £30,000 more than me basic salary and was the same grade as I was.

I stayed for another couple of years and only upped my salary by about £5k with 2 job moves/ "promotions". I left and in the space of the following 18 months worked for 2 different companies with the last having almost doubled the wage I had been on. Then personally saw that I'd switch employee benefits for cash and moved into contracting which obviously is a different league of monies.