Like it or lump it? Pay rises

dannim12345

Hello - hope somebody can give me some advice.

I completed a construction related degree, after uni I got a temporary admin job with a construction company and after a few months I was taken on permanently as a trainee surveyor.

When I was offered this position, I was told my pay would rise every 6 months as long as I reach the required level. I was shown & I have a copy of how my pay would rise in-line with the scheme (and what is required of each stage). However, the amounts are not stated in my contract (I requested this though) just that my pay would be reviewed on a 6 monthly basis.

Basically to cut a long story short, I have had reviews and achieved an 'expect' level (on this form they complete). But my pay rise seems to be completely random figures and not anywhere near the amount I was expecting based on the trainee surveyor 'pay structure'.

I questioned this and I have been told I should have never seen the trainee surveyor 'pay structure' and this is purely a guide for managers and they can pay me whatever they want. However, if I didn't expect my pay to rise in this way (at least more or less) I probably wouldn't have stayed with this company for so long. I would have just carried on looking for/applying for other opportunities (e.g. graduate jobs) on a higher salary.

Hopefully that all makes sense. Do I just have to like or lump this? I understand I'm lucky to have a job at the moment but I feel like I've been lied too and the company are just trying to pay me as little as possible.

Thanks

tonyh66

you have more experience now, find another job.....

paddyrg

Staff pay is a balancing act between how much you pay and how many people quit for other jobs. If you are now fully qualified and more valuable on the open market, leave and take another job. If you are nervous about the employment landscape as many are at the moment, lump it for the time being at least. There is no way to compel an employer to pay more because it is what you hoped for.

dannim12345

Well I am looking to leave now, I'm just disappointed a company can tell you one thing when they offer you the job but when it come to it its totally different.

Looks like I'm going to have to lump it for the time being - until I find another job.

InsideInsurance

You will always progress more quickly staying within a company and you will always increase your salary quickest by switching companies. Its up to you the balance your priorities between the two.

Most companies have pay bandings, methodologies for calculating payrises etc and whilst HR spend a lot of time and effort to work these things out ultimately it all actually comes down to what the increase in budget is for the manager to share amoungst the team and unless things are going absolutely perfectly it is rarely enough to meet the HR devised plans.

At the last place I was an employee we used to get a letter each year from HR which said you need to work out what percentage your salary was against the target for your job and then there was a chart below with 70%-120% across the top and the grading of 1-5 along the side with the theory being you work out your 80% target salary and you got a grade 4 and therefore you were to get a X% payrise.

The small print of the letter did say it was a guide, plus our manager pointed out our role was ungraded so no target salary. You got what you got and liked it or left.