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Challenging pay comparing against colleague
Comments
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Before you get bent out of shape trying to prove a case of discrimination (which, despite the rights and wrong of the situation, won't win you any friends), why not try having a proactive discussion about your value to the company first?
Go in with a positive attitude and performance details that back up your argument, and then ask to be rewarded accordingly.
As has already been said, pay levels can vary for many reasons, but one that is quite often over-looked is that the employee simply hasn't asked for more. We all negotiate when we go into a new job, but from that point on, many of us just sit back and accept what is handed to us, while secretly moaning that we feel undervalued. As my gran used to say "If you don't ask, you don't get". It may just work, and if so, it will have been a whole lot less hassle than a discrimination claim.0 -
Before you get bent out of shape trying to prove a case of discrimination (which, despite the rights and wrong of the situation, won't win you any friends), why not try having a proactive discussion about your value to the company first?
Go in with a positive attitude and performance details that back up your argument, and then ask to be rewarded accordingly.
As has already been said, pay levels can vary for many reasons, but one that is quite often over-looked is that the employee simply hasn't asked for more. We all negotiate when we go into a new job, but from that point on, many of us just sit back and accept what is handed to us, while secretly moaning that we feel undervalued. As my gran used to say "If you don't ask, you don't get". It may just work, and if so, it will have been a whole lot less hassle than a discrimination claim.
OP shouldn't have to ask to be paid equally for work of equal value to her male colleagues. The company should be carrying out regular pay audits to ensure it is not discriminating illegally.
It's a little out of date now but Deborah Tannen's book Talking from 9 to 5 explains well why women often fall behind their male colleagues in terms of pay. One reason is that men are more likely to ask for more money. Companies should recognise that there can be differences in style between men and women and ensure they aren't favouring men unfairly because of this.0 -
OP shouldn't have to ask to be paid equally for work of equal value to her male colleagues. The company should be carrying out regular pay audits to ensure it is not discriminating illegally.
It's a little out of date now but Deborah Tannen's book Talking from 9 to 5 explains well why women often fall behind their male colleagues in terms of pay. One reason is that men are more likely to ask for more money. Companies should recognise that there can be differences in style between men and women and ensure they aren't favouring men unfairly because of this.
I'm not supporting discrimation in any way, simpy saying that if you want a rise, the first thing you should do is ask for it. If men are better at that than women, and women aren't prepared to be proactive about it, then god help us.
Yes, the employer has a responsibility, but we also need to accept a bit of responsibility for ourselves.0 -
Op why not put together a case as to why you feel you deserve a pay rise ( ongoing performance, meeting exceeding targets etc)
Go in with a proposal and be prepared to justify why you are worth more money without referring to you colleague ( instead use data such as industry averages e.g salary surveys micheal page do a good one for free to demonstrate a benchmark). You may be on less simply because you have not asked for away rise.
Doing it this way means you are seen as organized, proactive and a good negotiator I.e an asset.. Rather then an employee making complaints..
Going the gender route may get you a result short term but going the other route will leave the employer feeling a lot more positive towards you and have a greater positive effect on your long term employment with that employer.0 -
Op why not put together a case as to why you feel you deserve a pay rise ( ongoing performance, meeting exceeding targets etc)
Go in with a proposal and be prepared to justify why you are worth more money .. You may be on less simply because you have not asked for away rise.
Doing it this way means you are seen as organized, proactive and a good negotiator I.e an asset.. Rather then an employee making complaints..
Going the gender route may get you a result short term but going the other route will leave the employer feeling a lot more positive towards you and have a greater positive effect on your long term employment with that employer.
Or "going the gender route" may well highlight to the employer that they have a problem they weren't aware of and this could be to the benefit of OP's colleagues as well as herself. The employer could be grateful that OP has brought this to their attention and potentially saved them a lot of money and bad publicity from legal claims.
I'm not sure why so many posters here are so quick to advise people not to assert their legal rights at work. Ordinary working people have fought long and hard for the rights we enjoy today and we need to stand up for them to avoid giving Cameron and his buddies any more excuses to take them away.0 -
I'm not sure why so many posters here are so quick to advise people not to assert their legal rights at work. Ordinary working people have fought long and hard for the rights we enjoy today and we need to stand up for them to avoid giving Cameron and his buddies any more excuses to take them away.
I don't see anyone advising anyone not to assert their legal rights. We're purely saying that going in all guns blazing as a first step may be unnecessary. If you can get what you want with a polite question, why start a war instead?0 -
I don't see anyone advising anyone not to assert their legal rights. We're purely saying that going in all guns blazing as a first step may be unnecessary. If you can get what you want with a polite question, why start a war instead?
I'm not suggesting being impolite. You can assert your legal rights in a perfectly polite and civil way. What you and some others are suggesting is avoiding the issue of gender pay difference in case it is seen as being rude!0 -
What you and some others are suggesting is avoiding the issue of gender pay difference in case it is seen as being rude!
No, what we are suggesting is that this may not be a case of gender pay difference and that, in the name of a positive long-term relationship, other possible reasons for the discrepancy should perhaps be investigated first.0 -
Or "going the gender route" may well highlight to the employer that they have a problem they weren't aware of and this could be to the benefit of OP's colleagues as well as herself. The employer could be grateful that OP has brought this to their attention and potentially saved them a lot of money and bad publicity from legal claims.
I'm not sure why so many posters here are so quick to advise people not to assert their legal rights at work. Ordinary working people have fought long and hard for the rights we enjoy today and we need to stand up for them to avoid giving Cameron and his buddies any more excuses to take them away.
Or equally the ops colleague may be higher paid because they have more qualifications or they simply asked for more money or the company they came fron before the merger had a different pay scale.
Change the story and have the same situation but 2 guys or girls and you will see this in millions of organizations,
The op has given no evidence it's gender based and not one of the above reasons .. And asking in the right way may get a positive response rather then asumming her employers motives and looking for world war 3 before simply asking for money based on merit.
If I do a good job I expect to be remunerated and paid appropriately if not I will ask for more money... But what the guy at the next desk is on is not as strong an argument as over performance and value I bring to the company and national pay rate benchmarking
I doubt any employer who would be grateful to be accused of discrimination particularly if it turned out if was based solely on a policy of e.g pay rises only when requested or historical pay rates.
How would the op feel if she then found out that in another department the women were on more then their male colleagues without full information the op is just guessing at reasons for the fact with any evidence as to why the situation has occurred.0 -
Or equally the ops colleague may be higher paid because they have more qualifications or they simply asked for more money or the company they came fron before the merger had a different pay scale.
Change the story and have the same situation but 2 guys or girls and you will see this in millions of organizations,
The op has given no evidence it's gender based and not one of the above reasons .. And asking in the right way may get a positive response rather then asumming her employers motives and looking for world war 3 before simply asking for money based on merit.
If I do a good job I expect to be remunerated and paid appropriately if not I will ask for more money... But what the guy at the next desk is on is not as strong an argument as over performance and value I bring to the company and national pay rate benchmarking
It's not for the OP to prove, it's for the company to justify that she is paid less for a legitimate reason. That is the law.0
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