Pay Rise + NMW

no1wf

I suppose I'm not looking for an answer really since you guys are not my employers but more of an opinion as to what you think.

In my job I was on NMW at £6.50, I was given a pay rise out of the blue of 40p/hour (£6.90 p/h) to show that I'm appreciated and to make me feel like I'm doing a goob job type of thing which I was really grateful for as I'd never had a payrise before! All the other girls get paid more than me as they've taken higher up courses and became qualified.

Now that the NMW has changed to £7.20 do you think I should just be getting that, or NMW plus my pay rise (£7.60)?

I asked my boss to contact head office as soon as the change came in just incase they wanted to do it I didn't want my wages to be wrong and have to chase up a months extra pay but he hasn't heard back. I've just had my payslip and I've been paid £7.20 p/h

I'm happy either way because it's more money than before, just wondering what you guys thought.

El_Torro

Your employer thought you were worth £6.90 an hour, not minimum wage plus 40p. They're now paying you more because they have to.

If there's other people at your company who are now on the same wage as you whereas before they weren't then you could argue that you should get more. That doesn't seem to be the case though.

shortcrust

El_Torro wrote: »

Your employer thought you were worth £6.90 an hour, not minimum wage plus 40p. They're now paying you more because they have to.

If there's other people at your company who are now on the same wage as you whereas before they weren't then you could argue that you should get more. That doesn't seem to be the case though.

They could argue that but the employer could simply say 'no'. Employers don't have to keep the differentials between people's wages when the NMW goes up. If they did every salaried worker in the land would get a pay rise.

There'll be a lot of trouble in a lot of companies as the wage continues to go up. Many people are going to feel very hard done by.

no1wf

I see what you mean, and that's fair enough

What would happen if you've studied with work and gained some qualifications that caused your pay to increase, then the NMW changed too? Would they be asking the same question or would they be getting paid new NMW plus their increase because they're qualified?

no1wf

shortcrust wrote: »

They could argue that but the employer could simply say 'no'. Employers don't have to keep the differentials between people's wages when the NMW goes up. If they did every salaried worker in the land would get a pay rise.

There'll be a lot of trouble in a lot of companies as the wage continues to go up. Many people are going to feel very hard done by.

I can understand that I suppose. To get the pay rise was a good feeling like I was appreciated which I know what the intent. If they were to turn round and say 'no we're leaving it at £7.20' in my head it would feel like they were taking it away like they didn't think I was worth the extra but at the same time I can understand there's been an increase and they only want to spend £X.XX amount

shortcrust

The only way an employer would be forced to keep the extra above the NMW would be if it was in the employment contract, such as 'pay will be 50p above the NMW'. Other than that it's entirely up to the employer.

I think I'd be miffed if I'd been given extra money for some reason and then found myself getting the minimum again. I wouldn't want to be miffed, but I probably would be. It would feel like being knocked down a rung on a ladder. I guess it's always happened, but it'll happen to huge numbers of people now we're getting regular big increases. Think about when it goes up to £9/hour. Lots of places will have quite a few tiers of employee earning the same wage. Think of how many people have supervisors that earn under £9.

no1wf

shortcrust wrote: »

The only way an employer would be forced to keep the extra above the NMW would be if it was in the employment contract, such as 'pay will be 50p above the NMW'. Other than that it's entirely up to the employer.

I think I'd be miffed if I'd been given extra money for some reason and then found myself getting the minimum again. I wouldn't want to be miffed, but I probably would be. It would feel like being knocked down a rung on a ladder. I guess it's always happened, but it'll happen to huge numbers of people now we're getting regular big increases. Think about when it goes up to £9/hour. Lots of places will have quite a few tiers of employee earning the same wage. Think of how many people have supervisors that earn under £9.

I think that's pretty much how I do feel.

That's true, when I worked at Tesco 2 years ago we were being paid something like £7.24 or something odd like that and it was considered the highest or one of the highest paid supermarkets. Now that's nmw and my friends who work there are still being paid the same I think

TELLIT01

A lot of people who had been in receipt of additional payments on the old Minimum Wage now seem to be finding that amount has magically been absorbed into the new National Living Wage. If it happened to me I'd be mad as hell, but unfortunately there are 3 options. 1. Speak to management and let them know how unhappy you are that the additional money previously paid on the basis of your performance has disappeared. 2. Suck it up. 3. Look for another job.
The way some companies are acting stinks in my opinion, but it's entirely legal. The Chancellor claims that working this way is against the spirit of the bill, but when the Government was taken to the European Court about differing retirement ages for men and women, and lost, they simply increased the female retirement age to the same as men. Surely that was against the spirit of the court ruling too!

supersaver2

Certainly is causing problems at my workplace and it will only get worse when the living wage at £9.00 odd comes in. We currently have a number of staff that have taken extra qualifications and responsibilities that get paid around 5p an hour more than the cleaning staff (not knocking cleaning jobs but they don't have to be qualified with extra responsibilities). The staff who are given a lot extra in my opinion are wondering what's the point of the extra stress for 5p more - difficult situation.

theoretica

The pay rise was intended to make you feel appreciated - please don't let it make you feel worse than if it hadn't happened and you had waited until the minimum wage went up.

Tiddlywinks

Those right through to the top of the pay ranges are all seeing their 'lead' in wages being eroded in comparison to those just starting out.

Those whose pay has been increased by application of the new minimum have received an advantage yet that is not continued through and up.

So, stop whinging and be glad for the extra money as a lot of employers are struggling to service the new wage bills without dropping staff or benefits.

Just accept the windfall and be happy.