Different Pay Grade - Same job Title.

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tawecdl
tawecdl Posts: 1,095 Forumite
I've been Money Tipped!
in Employment, jobseeking & training
Hey Everybody.

Just out of interest, if somebody was to start employment with a company and was given for example £20,000 per year contract for a job where there are only 2 positions within the company (one of which is already filled), and then a month or so into their employment discovers that their colleague doing exactly the same job is on for example £30,000 plus £4,200 vehicle allowance. Is there anything the employee can do?

Literally exactly the same job roles and responsibilities...

Thanks in advance

:)
:j
«13

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  • Takeaway_Addict
    Takeaway_Addict Posts: 6,538 Forumite
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    tawecdl wrote: »
    Hey Everybody.

    Just out of interest, if somebody was to start employment with a company and was given for example £20,000 per year contract for a job where there are only 2 positions within the company (one of which is already filled), and then a month or so into their employment discovers that their colleague doing exactly the same job is on for example £30,000 plus £4,200 vehicle allowance. Is there anything the employee can do?

    Literally exactly the same job roles and responsibilities...

    Thanks in advance

    :)
    Only if the reason for this was down to a discriminatory nature based on sex, gender race etc.

    Though as you've not even hinted at this for the reason then I'd say no.

    Move on if you don't like it.
    Don't trust a forum for advice. Get proper paid advice. Any advice given should always be checked
  • London50
    London50 Posts: 1,850 Forumite
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    AS above

    The other person must have had far better negotiating skills when being interviewed for the other position than you so a lesson learned for future job applications.
  • itchyfeet123
    itchyfeet123 Posts: 480 Forumite
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    London50 wrote: »
    The other person must have had far better negotiating skills when being interviewed for the other position than you so a lesson learned for future job applications.

    This. Especially if you're a woman, when you're offered a job that isn't an hourly-paid supermarket job, you should *always* negotiate.

    There's not much you can do now. Read your company's policies on promotion and pay rises. After a 2-3 good performance reviews, you'll be in a decent position to apply for a pay rise, based primarily on how awesome you are at your job, but also taking into account the salary of your team mate.

    But, one thing to keep in mind when comparing your salary with your colleague's is that it's not just about the job. If s/he has been in the role a few years, s/he might have started on a similar salary to you but have gotten annual increments.
  • Undervalued
    Undervalued Posts: 8,853 Forumite
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    London50 wrote: »
    AS above

    The other person must have had far better negotiating skills when being interviewed for the other position than you so a lesson learned for future job applications.

    Indeed.

    Or they may have been recruited when there was a shortage of people with the right skills so the firm had to pay over the odds.

    A year or two on, perhaps if a competitor has closed down, there may be several skilled people desperate for a job and the firm can pick and choose and get away with paying far less.

    Perfectly lawful unless it is due to the legally protected grounds mentioned in other posts.
  • xapprenticex
    xapprenticex Posts: 1,760 Forumite
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    Its not illegal or anything basically.
  • theoretica
    theoretica Posts: 12,306 Forumite
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    London50 wrote: »
    AS above

    The other person must have had far better negotiating skills when being interviewed for the other position than you so a lesson learned for future job applications.
    itchyfeet123 wrote: »
    This. Especially if you're a woman, when you're offered a job that isn't an hourly-paid supermarket job, you should *always* negotiate.

    There is evidence that men have a stronger track record at negotiating salaries, and so an argument that setting salaries by negotiation is likely to disadvantage women and so can be discriminatory. Unless of course it is a role for a negotiator, when how well the candidate negotiates for the salary and how well they do in the job may be linked.
    But a banker, engaged at enormous expense,
    Had the whole of their cash in his care.
    Lewis Carroll
  • London50
    London50 Posts: 1,850 Forumite
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    theoretica wrote: »
    There is evidence that men have a stronger track record at negotiating salaries, and so an argument that setting salaries by negotiation is likely to disadvantage women and so can be discriminatory. Unless of course it is a role for a negotiator, when how well the candidate negotiates for the salary and how well they do in the job may be linked.


    If anyone applies for a job {male or female} then it is up to them to do their homework before any interviews.They should find out the "going rate" for a job based on the experience they have, that way they know before they start what they think should be the lowest wage/perks is wanted.
    If you go in "semi blind" any company will go for the lowest figure/perks they can and you then end up with the situation the OP has.
    When I worked I did my homework and if the offer was not to my liking I walked away and found one that did. I am sorry but it is no good taking a job then finding out later that the people doing the same as you are "xyz" better off because they fought their corner at the right time.
  • TELLIT01
    TELLIT01 Posts: 16,489 Forumite
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    My immediate thought was that the other person may have much more experience in the role, or may even have taken a step down from a role which disappeared but the company was keen to keep them so allowed them to retain the previous salary.
    The second is exactly what happened to me when there was a merger and restructure of jobs. My old role disappeared and I moved to a job which had less management responsibility, but I retained my salary and company car. I was actually also earning about £10k more than others doing the same job. It just meant that I would have to mark time on pay rises until the new salary band caught up with my actual salary. In the end it didn't really matter because following the financial crisis I took VR and a fat redundancy payout - also based on my 'inflated' salary.
  • theoretica
    theoretica Posts: 12,306 Forumite
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    London50 wrote: »
    I am sorry but it is no good taking a job then finding out later that the people doing the same as you are "xyz" better off because they fought their corner at the right time.

    On an individual level I agree with you that that is the sensible action. However on a bigger level, when a company has a gender pay gap "some employees didn't fight their corner" is not a acceptable reason. The legislation is equal pay for equal work, not equal pay for equal work and equal negotiating skills.
    But a banker, engaged at enormous expense,
    Had the whole of their cash in his care.
    Lewis Carroll
  • London50
    London50 Posts: 1,850 Forumite
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    theoretica wrote: »
    On an individual level I agree with you that that is the sensible action. However on a bigger level, when a company has a gender pay gap "some employees didn't fight their corner" is not a acceptable reason. The legislation is equal pay for equal work, not equal pay for equal work and equal negotiating skills.

    Could not agree more the equal pay act came in donkeys years ago and still men are paid more than women in most fields and no one seems prepared or able to pass a law making it right for equal pay for equal jobs.
    I was driving for a company that supplied Fords during the 1968 strike and supported those women 100% and refused to cross the picket line, yet today there are so many cases as the OP has.
    I think one of the other problems is that people {understandably} vent their rage on these sites but as a collective are to scared to "rock the boat" as they could loose their job and until the workforce as a whole stands up for rights nothing will change.
    OK I was lucky being born when I was as {after a few years} jobs for life was the order of the day, it was your choice, you walked away from one job at tea break and had a new job by teatime {or at a push the following morning} and I know that is not the case now, for that alone I do feel so sorry for todays workforce.
    We can only hope that someone somewhere starts a drive that people can get behind and sort this long overdue mess out.
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