employment question

[shirt]

well 2 actually. asking for the OH who has recently graduated.

1]. with a salaried role, do you have to wait 6mths before accruing sick pay? she caught a bug from work and had a week off as a result and wasn't paid for it. as far as i remember i could get sick pay from day 1 and thought it was different rules for salaried and hourly paid work.

2]. she started work in july. last month her company shed a lot of staff in redundancies due to reduced demand. as one of the most junior staff she thought she'd be culled, but they kept her and got rid of the woman above her. she's been told by a senior manager as this was because she was better at the job and shows greater potential.

she is now performing the majority of the duties of her previous superior as well her own, but keeping her original job title and salary. she is told she can't have a raise or improved position as the company would fall foul of the law regarding the redundancies [they woman who was let go was told her role didn't exist anymore].

i think this is a bit rich to say the least. they are making her do more work for the same money but keep telling her its a great opportunity to progress when she queries the pay and job title. is there anything she can do or is it a lump it or leave it situation?

have enough career worries of my own at the minute but need to do the caring boyfriend thing

cheers.

[GT03ROB]

Answers:

1) Read her contract of employment. Should provide her with an answer.

2) There is no right to any salary irrespective of the work done. Would she accept a pay cut if asked to do something less important? No I didn't think so! She should take it as an opportunity to prove herself & be well placed to get a decent raise in the next salary round.

Don't mean to sound harsh, but it's a tough old world out here at the moment and if the company is facing redundancies & she's only been there a short time, it's probably not a good time for her to rock the boat.

[LadyHayles]

As regards to the first question it will be determined in your employment contract. I've had various terms in the same vein before and it tends to tie in with your probation period.

[shirt]

no need to apologise, thats my take on it as well.

to be fair to her the difference in job descriptions is fairly massive. she was a buyer's admin assistant and is now in a buying role. seems unfair to her and the woman who was let go as its purely a cost saving exercise.

[Mobile Chicane]

As a fairly recent graduate, she's lucky to have a job in the current economic climate. The experience she'll gain now will give her an advantage in the years to come over those who graduated at the same time but aren't working.

That said, some of the best work-related advice I've ever had is that 'The secret of management is to make your underlings think that great things are going to happen just three months around the corner. That way, you only need to think of four things a year.'

[mackie1]

AFAIK it's illegal to place someone in a role that has been made redundant for 6 months. Maybe after this period there will be scope for her to be officially promoted.

[deckster]

Look on it as an opportunity. She can either -

- do the new job really well, impress the company & get promoted. In the worst case, if the company refuses to promote then she can quit after a couple of years with some really good experience and get a better job.
- whinge that this isn't what she's being paid for and get a reputation for being a work-shy pain in the arse.

Only one of these is conducive to having a good career

[shirt]

she's by no means workshy, even the MD has commented to her that she could be well in advance of her current position/salary within a few years and her boss has intimated she is looking to leave the company and wants to take my OH with her. not a bad impression to be making after 4mths - makes me feel bad for coasting these last 2 years!

Mobile Chicane said:

some of the best work-related advice I've ever had is that 'The secret of management is to make your underlings think that great things are going to happen just three months around the corner. That way, you only need to think of four things a year.'

i hear that. unfortunate but true.

[Jinx]

deckster said:

Look on it as an opportunity. She can either -

- do the new job really well, impress the company & get promoted. In the worst case, if the company refuses to promote then she can quit after a couple of years with some really good experience and get a better job.
- whinge that this isn't what she's being paid for and get a reputation for being a work-shy pain in the arse.

Only one of these is conducive to having a good career

Yep and it's number 2 if you are in the civil service......