Maternity cover promotion - no pay rise

lucyplonket

Issue resolved

Savvy_Sue

lucyplonket wrote: »

but 6 more months in my current role will still leave me in a great position for a new job - with significantly more money.

and will 6 months in this new role put you in a better or worse position for a new job?

You work in marketing. Now I don't know much about that, but surely part of it is persuading people of the strength of a case. Have you asked for a meeting at which you do just that? "I'm hugely flattered that you think I can do this job, I realise times are very hard and economies have to be made, however if you were to get someone fully qualified to replace Freda, it would cost you £x000 and you'd have recruitment costs. I know I'm not as experienced as Freda but if you're that sure I can cover her job, surely I'm worth at least £y000 of 'acting up' allowance?"

Incidentally, are they planning to replace you while you act up, or will you be doing both jobs at the same time?

dizzyrascal

I have replied to your post because I find this element of being asked to cover maternity leave without the appropriate level of pay quite disturbing.
It is much better for them to promote from within to cover this post because you already understand the role and can hit the ground running. Therefore, they have continuity, the job gets done from day one. No one needs to be inducted etc. (at least for this role)
Will you have to apply for the role and compete for it? What will happen if they advertise the role externally? I ask this because if they advertise it at the current level of responsibility/management/skills/qualification/experience and so on, and then offer the 16k salary, would that not raise a few eyebrows or alert the suspicions of suitable candidates.
To put it another way, how many experienced people would apply for this role, which is fixed term, so no guarantees about long term employment, at this salary level? I don't think there would be many because it is not an attractive package.
This would not happen at my organisation. The post would be advertised at the same grade and level of salary as the person going on ML.
To be honest, if I was the person going on ML and my post was being filled for less money, I might also be worried about what my returning package would be!
Also, if they have to back-fill your post, how will it feel to be on the same salary as someone who has less experience and is taking on less responsibility than you.
You have a degree in marketing and now you have experience so I am sure that you are more than worth the money for the higher grade. You also have enthusiasm for the role.
Start practising your negotiating skills and tell yourself why you deserve this job and salary. Don't talk yourself out of it.

Savvy_Sue

lucyplonket wrote: »

This is one concern that i have already raised as I don't want to put her in an awkward when she returns. I also don't want to be put in an awkward position when she returns because she has the right to return to the role - a role that will be taken by me. I have been assured that she will return in a support capacity to me and will use that time to learn more about what it is i do so that we become a more rounded department.

HUGE alarm bells ringing here! They CANNOT say that. She has the absolute right to return to her job, if it is still there, on the same t&c as when she left. The fact that you are doing her job means that it is still there. If she wants it, she comes back to it, NOT in a support capacity to you.

Of course, she may have said "I'll only want to come back p/t". But what if she changes her mind - as she has the right to do?

I suppose they are dressing it up as a reorganisation, using her m/l to restructure, her exact job going while she is on m/l etc etc etc.

Hang another 6 months, I'd be job-hunting now.

gibson123

I was going to answer that you should consider looking at how well the company is doing, if profits are falling then I would just hang in there and try not to rock the boat. However after the maternity post I think there is a lot of bad behaviour going on. Effectively the bright new graduate is going to take over the job of a person who is on maternity leave and that person will be demoted on their return, why? because she magically lost all her skills and experience along with her bump! I think there is a tribunal in the making with you in the middle, how do you think you would feel knowing you only got the job because the company screwed over some-one else. At the start of your career you really need to think about your ethical apporach to doing business, if you are happy to trample people in your way then please remember that your reputation follows you and that could be you in 5 or 10 years time.

Pupnik

This sounds dodgy to say the least and I would start job hunting now. If they cannot even afford to cover maternity leave what position do you think the company will be in this time next year? Clearly they are not in a healthy state and are happy to screw over their staff members, they are really taking advantage of you. What they are offering you is basically you being paid less than both people working underneath you (the guy who is filling your position and the returning maternity person) and that is on top of the unethical way they are planning on dealing with the maternity person.

On top of that, consider the amount of extra hours you will be working in this new role and work your wages out p/h and you will find you have effectively had a pay cut. When I went on to cover maternity for a colleague I had a £7k pay rise but because of the extra hours I was working each day combined with the extra tax I worked out that my take home pay per hour was almost exactly the same as before I covered the maternity.

getmore4less

Take on the new role get the experience on the CV

Start looking for something new.

Just focus on your own added value without busting a gut.

You could just throw this at them....

The "other guy" is paid more than me get him to do the cover.

Make sure the person going on maternity knows the plans.

lil.smartie

Bear in mind too that her statutory maternity pay is paid for the company by the government through PAYE so if they are using 2 staff already being paid they will be paying out LESS wages whilst she's off not the same...

Kate

moneypuddle

Hi Lucy

Thanks for updating us!

I'm in the same situation (sort of) but I am the one going on maternity leave. I am paid approx £26k, and the girl covering who is going to be covering my work gets more like £14k or £15k I think. It's a bit worrying for me about going back to work when they can get someone to do the job for £12k less than me.

Taadaa

They are taking the !!!!, and I see it all the time in the public sector. I think it's becoming fairly common - employers want more for the same or less money.

One of my colleagues left because she was put in a post she wasn't capable on doing. She hasn't been replaced so I have had no choice but to cover some of the work. She was on 15k more than me, and I am better qualified. Look for another job, that is what I will be doing when my mat leave finishes.

I would still put the duties on my CV though, even if you can't put the job title on it.

FATBALLZ

It's always been my experience that companies are much happier to hand out promotions and titles than to actually pay you any more. The only people I've known to get significant pay rises have generally got them as a reuslt of brown nosing their managers and the 'right' people.

My partner still works at the company I got my first full-time job at and there are people who were there when I left (years ago) still holding out for 'promised' pay rises to bring them into line with market rate, eg when they now work in a management role but are still on their former helpdesk rate of pay.

I earn decent money now but it's always been a result of taking opportunities given to me, and then moving companies in order to get market rate.