Question about pay from my job. advice needed please.

fletcher1985

hello well its a bit of a long sotry but i will keep it short. im a team leader at a factory i have been there about 14 years, my pay has always been rubbish but when minimum wage goes up each year mine never goes up the same amount so each year my staff catch me up in (hourly rate) for example last year minimum wage went up about 50p but most of the staff went up about 70p when mine only went up 26p. this has been happening for the last few years. i spoke to my manager which she doesnt care at all and nothing happened. so im waiting to hear about what will happen with my wages now wages have gone up again. i have told them if mine doesnt go up the same i will not be team leader anymore as its not worth it. so my question is if i turn around and say im not happy with the pay and i dont want to be team leader anymore could they fire me or try to get me out. because i know thats what they would try and do. any advice would be great.

elsien

What are they advertising new team leader post salaries as? What did the other team leaders think about it – have you spoken to them? It’s probably out of your direct manager’s hands although they can push the question back up the line. How big a company is it?

If your job contract is as team leader and you don’t want it anymore, then is there a full-time job for you to step down into and would they allow you to do that? Because otherwise you are effectively resigning. Is that what you want to do?

MattMattMattUK

fletcher1985 said:

hello well its a bit of a long sotry but i will keep it short. im a team leader at a factory i have been there about 14 years, my pay has always been rubbish but when minimum wage goes up each year mine never goes up the same amount so each year my staff catch me up in (hourly rate) for example last year minimum wage went up about 50p but most of the staff went up about 70p when mine only went up 26p. this has been happening for the last few years. i spoke to my manager which she doesnt care at all and nothing happened. so im waiting to hear about what will happen with my wages now wages have gone up again. i have told them if mine doesnt go up the same i will not be team leader anymore as its not worth it. so my question is if i turn around and say im not happy with the pay and i dont want to be team leader anymore could they fire me or try to get me out. because i know thats what they would try and do. any advice would be great.

If you say you no longer wish to be team leader then you would effectively be quitting your job. 

Brie

Seems to me there are 2 things you could do. 

What you need to do is negotiate for a higher salary.  And that sounds a bit like what you are doing.  Has there been any performance reviews that show you are doing a good to great job?  Or are you being constantly harrassed to get XYZ done?  (whether it's warranted or no - it goes to manager's attitude sometimes)

The alternative is for you to step down as TL (which you are threatening) and that is you saying you want to quit.  They may be happy for you to swap roles with someone else.  Or they may not.  If you say you don't want to be a TL and they don't have another role they want to move you to then, yes, you have resigned.  They are not firing you, you are quitting.

Do you have a union you could join to help you with this situation?  Unite seems to be a big one for factories as well as offices.

fletcher1985

they are not advertising for new team leaders, this place i work has no idea how to run anything. they always need people for jobs in my work. we have not had a new contract for years so i dont even think it says team leader on it. i dont want to leave my job but they just use. the other 2 team leaders also agree with me. would would be the best thing we could do.

Brie

fyi - I stepped down a grade a few years back and that involved taking a 10% cut in pay.   Make sure you are fully aware of the implications of stepping down, it may mean a lot of changes to your working life - not just pay, but holidays, benefits, contracted hours.

Altior

Don't take it personally, essentially the 'floor' wages are set by government via legislation, whereas yours is company policy.

I suggest you need to establish if you can, how the pay rate for your role, and you individually is established. Make the rational case that the differential has been compressed. 

lincroft1710

Why not start looking for another job and see if you get offered an interview?

fletcher1985

i just requested a copy of my contract and it says im a production operative and a general supervisor. so my understanding is that my job is both and i can say i dont want to do the general supervisor job any more would anyone agree. 

lincroft1710 said:

Why not start looking for another job and see if you get offered an interview?

im looking for jobs and applying at the moment.

oldernonethewiser

fletcher1985 said:

i just requested a copy of my contract and it says im a production operative and a general supervisor. so my understanding is that my job is both and i can say i dont want to do the general supervisor job any more would anyone agree. 

lincroft1710 said:

Why not start looking for another job and see if you get offered an interview?

im looking for jobs and applying at the moment.

From the employers point of view you would be refusing to do what your role entitles so in effect, resigning.

Undervalued

fletcher1985 said:

i just requested a copy of my contract and it says im a production operative and a general supervisor. so my understanding is that my job is both and i can say i dont want to do the general supervisor job any more would anyone agree. 

lincroft1710 said:

Why not start looking for another job and see if you get offered an interview?

im looking for jobs and applying at the moment.

No, not really I'm afraid.

"Contracts" of employment evolve and are not limited to what it says on a sheet of paper from years back with the word contract at the top.

You "contract" is for the job you are currently doing, certainly if you have been doing it for some time and it wasn't specifically a temporary arrangement / secondment etc. You can't just insist of reverting to what was originally agreed years ago (and certainly not only when it happens to suit you).

Also, just to clarify, there is no automatic right to a pay rise just because they are paying somebody else more for a similar job (unless the real reason for paying you less amounts to unlawful discrimination e.g race, gender, sexuality etc). Not that there actually needs to be a reason but sometimes, when it is hard to recruit, it may be necessary to pay a premium to attract a suitable applicant. 

Everything is negotiable but obviously that depends on the strength of your bargaining position and how much they value your services.