Would you ask for a payrise in this situation?

startingout2016

I am currently 6 months pregnant.
I go on maternity leave April.

I work in the construction industry (office based) and am contracted to 45 hours a week.

There is only one of me who does my job in the company and and have bought up a few times that more than just me is needed for the role however, business is currently good and order book is healthy (nearly full for the year).
I often end up doing overtime to meet deadlines. Overtime is not paid.
Overtime can add another 2-5 hours per week.

I don't feel my remuneration is the fair going rate.
My salary is £36k per year.
This works out at £15.40 per hour based on a 45 typical week.
Average salaries for my position is typically anywhere between £35k for basic position to £50k for senior position.
Typically these positions are advertised at 40 hour working weeks meaning my equivalent yearly salary using my hourly rate is £32k per year.

Working out what I feel I am worth would put my hourly rate up to £17,80 per hour which would be a salary of £36k per year on a 40 hour basis or £41k per year on my hours of 45 a week.
However this seems like a lot to ask, and I'm going on maternity leave soon.

Would you ask in my position?

martinsurrey

startingout2016 wrote: »

I often end up doing overtime to meet deadlines. Overtime is not paid.
Overtime can add another 2-5 hours per week.

Typically these positions are advertised at 40 hour working weeks meaning my equivalent yearly salary using my hourly rate is £32k per year.

Was your job advertised as 40 hour weeks?

Why do you think the others would be any different in terms of actual hours worked if you moved (my job is 40 hours but I work closer to 55, one of the perks of salaried positions)?

I wouldn't ask for a pay rise on the terms you have stated, if you are going above and beyond the role, that is a different conversation, but based on what you have said, I would say no as a boss.

and your pregnancy is a none issue as far as this is concerned.

startingout2016

My hours were not advertised at the time.

I assumed my hours were normal, but having spoken to people across the industry in similar positions it seems unusual. Most are 40 hour weeks, some are 37.5.
They every so often do over time, some of who get paid, some dont. The ones who don't do not have a need to do regular overtime.

I do feel I go above and beyond, but I am not too sure yet of how I can quantify that in a way to put across a case for a payrise. Which is why I thought going based on base hour wages, its a way to quantify it.

Generally I am happy with my yearly salary but feel that by the time I have worked my hours I could be working a much easier low pressure and stress job for the same hourly wage.

TBagpuss

Well, you can certainly ask. Pitch it based on what is usual in your industry and point out that you are close to the bottom of the range despite the level of work you are doing.
The other side of the coin is thinking about what you will do if they say no? Longer term, the obvious answer is to look for a better paid job elsewhere but of course if you are about to go on maternity leave you presumaby don't want to hand in your notice just yet.

What is happeneing while you are off? you may be in a stronger position to ask for a pay increse when you retyurn, if they hve been paying a more expensive locum or temp. during your absence or if they have had to cover internrlaly and resliaseho much work you are doing.

Another option is to push back harder about the need for an assistant, if the workload is too great for one person, so that you can work more reasonable hours.

Gavin83

martinsurrey wrote: »

Why do you think the others would be any different in terms of actual hours worked if you moved (my job is 40 hours but I work closer to 55, one of the perks of salaried positions)?

It's called being a doormat. I wouldn't work an extra 15 hours a week unless it was a one off to meet a deadline or they were paying me so much compared to competitor salaries it covered the extra hours.

martinsurrey wrote: »

and your pregnancy is a none issue as far as this is concerned.

Depending on the circumstances I wouldn't agree with this. OP, what's your maternity pay terms? If your on full pay for a period of time it makes no sense for the company to give you a pay rise just before you go off for a year. They'll also be well aware you won't be resigning at the moment either.

However saying this it doesn't hurt to ask. Just bare in mind given the current circumstances your position is somewhat weakened. I don't mean this in a harsh way, I'm just being realistic.

martinsurrey

Gavin83 wrote: »

It's called being a doormat. I wouldn't work an extra 15 hours a week unless it was a one off to meet a deadline or they were paying me so much compared to competitor salaries it covered the extra hours.

Well it comes with the territory in the industry and role I work, all jobs at my level are "40 hours" but you don't get here without more. but yes the industry wide salaries make up for it.

which is why I asked about the competitor roles, to make sure we were comparing apples with apples.

Gavin83 wrote: »

Depending on the circumstances I wouldn't agree with this. OP, what's your maternity pay terms? If your on full pay for a period of time it makes no sense for the company to give you a pay rise just before you go off for a year. They'll also be well aware you won't be resigning at the moment either.

However saying this it doesn't hurt to ask. Just bare in mind given the current circumstances your position is somewhat weakened. I don't mean this in a harsh way, I'm just being realistic.

I would say unless the OP goes in with the correct slant it could hurt. Requests like this that are perceived frivolous are not forgotten when reviews come around, they can come across as arrogance.

Just basing it on hours and not competence is never a good thing, if they reply "If you were better at the job you would get it done in time, why should we pay you more for not being efficient?" the OP would be on the back foot.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

Will they be able to easily get someone else to do the job as well as you for the money you are on now?

If "yes", they won't give you a payrise.

If "no", they might give you a payrise if you ask for one, if they think you might leave if you don't get it.

These are the ONLY considerations.