Salary negotiation awkwardness?

[alorotom]

is this just a British thing ... the uncomfortable-ness around mid-year salary negotiation discussions

I inadvertently discovered that I was underpaid against several colleagues who I have been mentoring and QA'ing for by between £8-13k (plus additional bonus) and have raised as part of the mid-year process - but was met with a uncomfortable questioning on how its unusual for people to talk money - I dont think it is really as its just addressing a discrepancy, the same as performance management, resource management, etc...

For reference this makes my salary adrift by between 11-18% from the pack

[Zoon]

Get a pay rise or a new job.
That's usually how it works.

[psi310398]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

+1. There may also be some embarrassment at having been rumbled.

It is also worth noting that the only real chance to get what you want, whether an appreciable pay rise or conditions i.e. days working at home/special hours to fit with school run commitments, is on your way in to a new job.

There is often a practical problem that budgets are set at a different time in the cycle from these discussions so flexibility (at least immediately) can be limited but that's their problem, not yours.

[alorotom]

I've already established from other near identical roles that I've been approached about that my salary should be in the ball park of 85-110k basic plus bonus and benefits

Currently I'm sat around 70k plus bonus and benefits

Parity would be fine tbh as I'm aware there is often a geographical disparity (90+% of my colleagues reside south of Milton Keynes whereas I live in Northumberland) but we all work from home or client sites which are anywhere - as an example I've been in Essex working lately

I've been told the disparity will be addressed at the directors moderation session late September but I still have discussions ongoing with 2 of the 'big4' who would like me to work for them

thanks for confirming my thoughts

[psi310398]

alorotom said:

I've been told the disparity will be addressed at the directors moderation session late September but I still have discussions ongoing with 2 of the 'big4' who would like me to work for them

thanks for confirming my thoughts

Ah, good. I worked as a Director and then ED for one of the Big Four for seven years and have been seriously "courted" at one point or another by the other three.

On my entry to said firm, I was able to negotiate a start time which allowed me to take my son to school before starting work (subject to the occasional exception). I was also able to improve the original salary offer by some 15%. On promotion, my salary increased by 1%...

Some interest from the competition should help with your current employer and, if all fails, off you go.

P

[fat80b]

alorotom said:

I've been told the disparity will be addressed at the directors moderation session late September but I still have discussions ongoing with 2 of the 'big4' who would like me to work for them

One of the lessons I learned the hard way is that you don't believe these kind of promises as they rarely turn out to be true.

If it was me, I would be looking to get an offer in hand from one of the other opportunities....... And then I would take it.

Bob

[768]

Zoon said:

Get a pay rise or a new job.
That's usually how it works.

And any pay rise would probably still fall short of the market rate.

[xjay1337]

fat80b said:

alorotom said:

I've been told the disparity will be addressed at the directors moderation session late September but I still have discussions ongoing with 2 of the 'big4' who would like me to work for them

One of the lessons I learned the hard way is that you don't believe these kind of promises as they rarely turn out to be true.

If it was me, I would be looking to get an offer in hand from one of the other opportunities....... And then I would take it.

Bob

Quite. The disparity will not be addressed.

I remember at a company many years ago I was the only guy not receiving a car allowance.
I was told by the CEO within my first 3 months that "it would be sorted ASAP".

18 months later, I still had no car allowance. It took an enormous amount of moaning, combined with "I am no longer insuring my car for business use until you pay me a car allowance" to get one.

The result? £180 a month, to cover approx 1000 miles a month.

It was HALF what the other engineers were on.

Nowadays I generally ask for market + 10% as a baseline, if I am moving jobs I look for 10-20% increase .
Be upfront (polite, but firm) about what you want in terms of a package. Car allowance, base pay, bonuses, holiday etc.
Believe it or not many employers will actually respect you more for it.
It very much sets the tone of the business relationship moving forwards if you have a backbone or if you're a door mat.

Having said that due to redundancy I lost 13k base pay. But you manage. :-)

[rog007]

xjay1337 said:

... if I am moving jobs I look for 10-20% increase.

I always advise that c20% improvement in total reward package should be your aim if moving organisations. Of course there'll be reasons why you would accept a little less and sometimes need a little more, but as a yardstick it seems a good guide.

[98elise]

fat80b said:

alorotom said:

I've been told the disparity will be addressed at the directors moderation session late September but I still have discussions ongoing with 2 of the 'big4' who would like me to work for them

One of the lessons I learned the hard way is that you don't believe these kind of promises as they rarely turn out to be true.

If it was me, I would be looking to get an offer in hand from one of the other opportunities....... And then I would take it.

Bob

Agreed. I've only ever been properly valued when I'm walking out the door. Providing you've given your current employer a chance to make things even then go out and get another job.

It's amazing how suddenly a pay rise is available when you've stuck your notice in! I've never taken a pay rise to stay though, and have never regretted it.