Is it just me or are people odd???

MegNificent

I have worked as a temp in a company for the last 18 months. On Friday I was offered a fixed term contract directly with the company. So far so good, eh??? Here is where my query on the oddness of people starts....

I was advised of the grade and salary I was being offered. It's a lower grade and salary that the person who previously held the position and I queried it based on that and the fact that in the 18 months that I've been there the job has evolved and I've been given extra duties and responsibilities that the previous post holder didn't have to worry about. At no time was I rude or did I raise my voice. I made my case, detailing the duties my role now entails, expressed how appreciative I was of the offer and said I would get back to them after I'd thought about it and spoken to my partner etc.

Today the silly HR rep accidently copied me into an email to my line manager saying that I should be grateful to have a job and that if I tried to negotiate for a higher salary or band then I should be told that if I didn't like it then I should just leave.:eek:

What's going on? Last time I checked I hadn't asked for a negotiation - just time to think things through. A tad uncalled for, I thought! So, it is just me or are some people odd????

As a little aside, this whole episode has taken the shine off my job for me to the point where I'm not sure I want to work for the company at all, but it's too close to Christmas and I have a mortgage to pay!!!

ohreally

MegNificent wrote: »

Today the silly HR rep accidently copied me into an email to my line manager saying that I should be grateful to have a job and that if I tried to negotiate for a higher salary or band then I should be told that if I didn't like it then I should just leave

Sounds about right, sums up a typical HR drone.

DVardysShadow

MegNificent wrote: »

... Today the silly HR rep accidently copied me into an email to my line manager saying that I should be grateful to have a job and that if I tried to negotiate for a higher salary or band then I should be told that if I didn't like it then I should just leave.:eek:

accidentally? I think you are hitting exactly the note they want you to sing. It is so cynical that I too would be put right off them.

VfM4meplse

As you've been working at the company for 18 months, do you have the same rights as a permanent employee?

The point about being grateful to have a job is true enough but not HR's judgement to make. Make them eat their words at least.

MegNificent

DVardysShadow wrote: »

accidentally? I think you are hitting exactly the note they want you to sing. It is so cynical that I too would be put right off them.

I was just saying exactly the same thing to my partner....on Christmas Eve I would be entitled to more because of the new agency worker regulations. Methinks they're just trying to get rid of me so they can heap even more work on some other unsuspecting temp!!!

MegNificent

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Make them eat their words at least.

Would love to, but how exactly?? Accept the offer knowing it should have been much higher, or leave and cut my nose off to spite my face? Can anyone say rock and hard place?????? Disgusted though I am, I really don't have a choice - I need to work!

[Deleted User]

Hi,

DVardysShadow wrote: »

accidentally?

mmm, think they are playing mind games, they know if you leave they will get someone else to fill the post.

ohreally

I would consider replying in some (witty) capacity to the donkeys e-mail.

cte1111

I'd be very tempted to reply to the email saying you are interested to hear their thoughts on this matter, just to let them know the mistake that has been made.

But TBH I'm usually wrong on things like this!

ohreally

[Deleted User] wrote:

mmm, think they are playing mind games

Perhaps you give them far too much credit.

SarEl

I don't think it was any accident that you were copied in on the e-mail, and tbh I don't think people are "odd" - I think that the employer is doing exactly what lots of other employers are doing and cutting back on wages. The fact that the previous occupant of the role got paid more isn't really relevant to what the employer thinks the role is "worth" now (and nor would that have meant that you would have got what they used to be paid at the end of your 12 weeks as an agency worker). It is a sad fact, but a fact nevertheless, that many employers are using the recession and high unemployment to reduce wages, often while people are still actually in the post, never mind for new recruits. Whether you realised it or not, you did try to negotiate the salary - and fair enough that you did. You made a pitch about the rate of pay and argued for it to be higher to refelct the additional roles you have taken on etc. That is negotiating. And the e-mail was your answer. Not perhaps the most tactful answer, but certainly an honest one and one which many employers would currently share - "we can get 10 of you at the drop of a hat with no effort on our part so take it or leave it". Given that I routinely hear of many employers saying exactly the same thing to peoples faces, I think that this is nothing more than a sign of the times. Many employers think that you should be grateful to be offered employment and if you don't like the conditions then you are welcome to leave because they can easily replace you. And the unfortunate fact is that many employees feel the same way. You could turn this on its head - you know where you stand from the beginning and you have no reason to consdier that you owe them any loyalty, so if a better job comes along then you can take it without feeling that they have done you any favours.