Tips on asking for a pay rise

stargirl90

I've been in my job for just under 2 and a half years now. Since I started I've been on an hourly wage which has always been mere pennies above minimum wage - my last payrise was April 2016 when they raised me to £7.30p.h. (the minimum wage rose to £7.20p.h. at this time, so their hand was forced, it wasn't an act of generosity on their part).

Without going into the particulars of what I do, it's always been a tough but rewarding job physically and mentally, but in the last few months it's really stepped up a gear. I'm the second-longest working employee within my job title, and we've had a revolving door of brand new staff coming and going recently. It's somehow fallen on my shoulders to train them, which has led to me being called on all day every day for every little question - this is much more draining than it sounds. On top of this I've been given heaps of extra responsibility as there is too much work to share between the experienced people in my role, which I don't mind, but everything at once is just overwhelming me. I feel my mental health has taken a turn for the worse and I've gone from enjoying my job to starting to dread it every morning, which really saddens me.

I never signed up for a supervisor/managerial-type role in the first place, I'm the kind of person who just likes to keep their head down, get their own work done properly and then go home, not worry about everything and everyone else. I feel that if I'm expected to take on a supervisor role then I should be paid accordingly for it!

What grates on me the most is the fact that I KNOW these new staff are all being brought in on minimum wage too, i.e the same as me - how is it fair that I'm being paid the same as these newbies whilst doing so much more?

I really want to ask for a pay rise within the next few weeks, before the new tax year begins, but I'm so nervous to do it, I'm not really a ballsy/pushy kind of person (which I'm certain they know and are using to their advantage to keep my wage low). I've been playing over scenarios in my mind since the beginning of the year and rehearsing what I would like to say but I still feel so nervous about doing it. Has anyone got any tips for me?

Thanks for reading and sorry for the slight essay, I clearly needed to get this off my chest!

Second_Account

Simply training some people doesn't make your job a supervisor/managerial role. To be a supervisor/manager of people you would have to be the person who carries out their performance reviews, disciplines them, dictates the hours they work/overtime they do, have targets that you have to make sure everyone meets.

To justify a payrise will all depend on what job your doing and what relevant skills you have. Some jobs are simply low skilled and will never be much more than minimum wage. If you want a payrise because your training people and just showing them what someone else showed you then your unlikely to get anymore money for it.

trailingspouse

What Second Account says may be true - but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Do some research first -
is your wage broadly similar to other similar jobs with other employers locally? Or is it lower?
write a list of every single part of your job - start with what's on your job description, and add in the things that you find you have to do that are over and above the description. Think about how much this differs from the other people on your wage level.
decide how determined you are to increase your pay - for example, would you walk if you didn't get it?

Go to whoever deals with hiring and firing, and ask for a meeting (at a time to suit them). Be professional - and don't sound too desperate! Tell them that you feel a pay rise is justified, with your reasons. If the answer is no, then don't get into an argument, and don't take it personally. Ask them what they would need you to do in order to get a pay rise - additional responsibility (for example, the performance reviews etc that Second Account mentioned), further qualifications, whatever it might be. Then do it.

But be aware that it might not work. I was leading a team of insurance technicians, and discovered that I could be earning the same amount cleaning - I'd seen an advert in the paper. I went to my boss, showed him the advert, and asked for more money. He offered me an extra £100 - the problem was, I wanted and extra £100 a month, and he was offering an extra £100 a year!!! I handed my notice in, went to another employer in the same industry, and doubled my salary.

Fireflyaway

I wouldn't ask for a payrise, I would leave and find another job where they value you more and don't take advantage. It doesn't sound like a payrise alone would make you content. Its also an issue with the workload and added pressures.
Do your CV and do a part time course if you need to. Just because you don't want to go into management it doesn't mean you need to settle for a minimum wage job all your life. You have obviously been a hard worker and very flexible so use that to your own advantage. Don't let this ungrateful company get you down.

another_casualty

Fireflyaway wrote: »

I wouldn't ask for a payrise, I would leave and find another job where they value you more and don't take advantage. It doesn't sound like a payrise alone would make you content. Its also an issue with the workload and added pressures.
Do your CV and do a part time course if you need to. Just because you don't want to go into management it doesn't mean you need to settle for a minimum wage job all your life. You have obviously been a hard worker and very flexible so use that to your own advantage. Don't let this ungrateful company get you down.

This sums it up imho . The more you have a can do attitude and show willing , the more you get dumped on .

robatwork

You need to seriously think about leaving.

Even if you don't leave, you need to let your employer know you are considering it - this isn't unfair tactics. Just tell them you don't believe you are being treated fairly and that your salary doesn't match their expectations of your job role, and the increased responsibility.

ANY reasonable employer should offer increased reward to go along with the increased responsibility. If they don't or won't, it's time to get your head up and leave.

Good luck.

Oh - I wish some of the people we employ on >> minimum wage were as literate as you.

Malthusian

If you get a pay rise it won't stop you dreading going into work every morning.

You first need to decide whether you want to ask your manager to give you less of the training responsibility, or whether you want to be paid more in recognition of it. You can't really ask him to take the training off your hands, then ask for a pay rise for work you're not going to do anymore.

The fact that the newbies are on minimum wage does not in itself mean you should be on more. Quite possibly you should, I don't know your business, but not for that reason alone. A minimum wage means, by nature, that some people will be paid more than they're worth. Possibly if there was no minimum wage law the newbies would only be paid £6/h and you would be paid £7.30/h, but the law says you must be paid the same. That one you'll have to take up with your MP.

stargirl90

Thanks for all the comments, they've been extremely helpful and made a few things clear in my brain.

A few of you pointed this out and you're right - if I'm unhappy in my job a pay rise probably won't magically fix how I feel.

To answer the person who mentioned this (sorry, using quick reply and can't quote) - my job isn't low skilled and minimum wage is not the norm for my job role, in fact in my research it seems to be the only place paying minimum wage for this kind of role. It involves a LOT of mental skill/knowledge and a fair amount of physical stamina too. So I think I need to take my skills elsewhere.

I'm going to ask to speak to them about this on Monday because I feel an open and honest conversation is the way forward - if they can't give me a significant wage rise then I want them to be aware that i will be hunting for a better paid role, I don't want to be job hunting behind their back.

Thanks again everyone, I wasn't expecting such helpful advice.

Masomnia

I think you're doing right thing looking around for other work. Especially if you find similar jobs paying more it gives you ammunition in the meeting when asking for a pay rise.

Good luck.

paddyrg

I think you're right to ask. Maybe say that you feel you contribute more than the new starters, and that you're spending a lot of time on training them, and would love to feel the company recognised your value. I'd ask for a pound an hour over minimum wage with the expectation to agree at 50p over NMW.