Disparate Pay & Contracting

[Monsterlime]

I am relatively senior in my company, being responsible for all of our database platforms across the organisation (global), and I have one direct report plus a 3rd party support company who works for us and reports directly to me (it probably isn't quite enough, but we cope). I am based in London, while the direct report is in New York, as is my boss.

Pay review time is now hitting at my company, and yesterday my (newish) boss discussed with me the increase for the employee who reports to me. He also let me know how much this employee was earning (which he probably shouldn't have). This was a "it is your turn increment" of a not insignificant amount of cash. I was not consulted until I was told it had been awarded. This is different to the way the UK side of things work (who I was initially employed by, and am still paid by).

It turns out, said employee, who was not employed by me, as he initially worked for a different department, is paid SUBSTANTIALLY more than me. On a technical level, I am superior (not trying to be bigheaded, I just am..I have greater experience, a wider depth of knowledge and am significantly faster in diagnosing and fixing a problem), plus I have a lot more experience in dealing with the "business" and how to speak to non-technical users. There has also been some other issues this year, which actually makes me quite surprised he got anything at all, which my boss is fully aware of.

On being told how much employee was being increased by and what he was actually earning, I did raise this with my boss, to be told, basically, "New York". My boss also informed me that when employees earn over X, they only get an increment every 18 months, and I did have a (small) increment last year. Well, I had to make clear to him I actually earn (a lot) less than X. This is now going to be raised with our CIO, although since he is US based and my pay is controlled by the UK CFO, it is unlikely much is going to change. I am relatively certain my boss isn't really going to push it, he didn't really care.

Some of this is probably my fault to a degree, as when I was promoted I didn't ask for more, and I probably should have. I didn't want to come across as greedy, and it was slightly more than a competing company were offering for my services. The increment last year was pretty small, but I just accepted it, better than nothing etc.

I do not blame my report, it isn't his fault. I do not expect to be given a pay rise to match/beat my report, since that it is a lot of money, but something would be appreciated. To clarify - the pay difference is actually a enough to employ a full time member of staff on our desktop support team.

The fact I work in the UK, for the UK arm of the company, and the other players in this are in the US does make me wonder if this is normal and not something I should be getting too upset about?

The way I see it, I have 2 options -

1 - Suck it up. My boss, who I and most people dislike, is not likely to do much as he doesn't really care. There is a significant chance I will get tupe-ed over to our parent at some point, but of course without sorting pay now, that will just mean I move on what I currently earn.

2 - Leave. I have been considering this for a few months already, and I have looked at the contracting market. If I went and contracted in London, I could earn a significant amount more, without a lot of the politics and hassle that comes with my position. My wife is due to give birth shortly, so I wouldn't resign until after I have taken paternity etc. I have a 3 month notice period, so no contract is likely to wait that long for me, so I would need to resign without anything to go to and wait until a month/few weeks before I finish to secure something. Since I would be waiting until after August to resign, it does give them time to do something about the pay situation.

Am I overreacting and being a diva? Or is this justified?

Re contracting, I know there are changes afoot and would need to look into this with a lot more detail before I took the plunge.

[Monsterlime]

Thanks. So, fund wise, that will need building up but shouldn't take too long. I've had various people tell me different things about money, and when you would start seeing it, and how much. Some say you don't see any money for 6 months (or even until next tax year), others telling me this is tosh, it all seems to be down to which accountant you get and how it is done?

I do need to have a detailed conversation with a friend who does this stuff (he is an accountant and mortgage broker), and he set up a company for another friend for contracting etc.

Work wise, I don't see this as being a problem, I've never had an issue picking up perm work and my skill set is now pretty extensive. Contacts wise I do probably lack them and I really should create a LinkedIn account (I don't really do social media).

I will need to check my contract, but I am fairly certain that there are no covenants in it.

My wife is due to give birth in August, so I wouldn't even consider resigning until September/October and I could extend that into the new year just to make sure I have a nice buffer built up, along with letting child settle a bit.

The actual promotion came about because I resigned, and they panicked when they thought I was leaving. It actually wasn't my intention to do it, or hold them to ransom, I really was just going to leave, which is one of the reasons I didn't go big on salary increase. While I am glad I didn't leave and took their opportunity, I also wouldn't expect anything to be offered this time either and it is probably time to look at moving on.

While, ideally, I would get a reasonable raise and then move over to the parent (therefore moving boss, he won't get tupe-ed), as that would still allow me some security, the grass isn't always greener. Of course, that goes for anything new, but I guess at least with contracting I know I shouldn't have to deal with some of the extra rubbish that comes with being permanent and being so senior.

Some of this desire to leave is driven by the new boss, not just money, since he is so micro-managing (and it isn't just me he does this too, so it isn't personal) and at his level, it is surprising how much he wants to nitpick, even when he actually doesn't have a great deal of technical expertise with what he is questioning etc. It really feels like since he has started (middle of last year) a lot of the control over "my" domain has gone, or he undermines. I am also not the only one considering jumping ship due to him, but I guess the pay thing is the straw that is making me actively look at it.

[Monsterlime]

Quite enlightening! We do not have a unified HR, so I deal with UK HR, he and my boss deal with NA HR. It can get a bit confusing, and I have no idea what the rest of his benefits package is. I do know he gets a lot less holiday, as do most of my US colleagues.

As it happens, I AM the head of a department, with a fairly pretentious job title that includes the word Director with global responsibilities. I am still very hands on technically, but also set policy and standards for all of our various DB technologies, architect new solutions and manage a small team, among other things.

Contracting wise, I would just be a DBA, and from looking around Jobserve etc, the day rate I could get would work out to be a significant amount more than what I earn right now, in the realms of 30-50%.

To compare my current position/salary with other equivalent perm roles, searching for a DBA/Senior DBA doesn't really help, so I probably need to look more at the department head type roles to see where I am, which I hadn't really considered until this thread, so that has been quite helpful. I still think of myself as a DBA, just with some added fluff, and that is a mindset I need to get away from.

I have been at this company for over 6 years now, so the uncertainty of contracting, the buffer needed and really my lack of knowledge around the whole process is what has held me back from just jumping in. And, as has been reasonably said, I should probably stay in this role for at least 6 months to a year before looking to go, with the imminent birth of our first child.

[Monsterlime]

Anubis said:

Sounds like you basically caught word that someone below you, who you deem inferior is earning more than you so greed or jealousy has kicked in and you also want some. The question is...before you knew this, were you bothered about how "underpaid" you were?

You're comparing apples and oranges. Two different countries will pay different due to local market demands , otherwise people in India will be asking for £30k for a normal IT role just like their UK counterparts; it just isn't going to happen. Remember we get free NHS, insurance, etc - in the US they have to pay for all that privately.

I would look at jobs elsewhere around you right now - not in the US. That's your market rate.

Not greed, perhaps a little jealousy, and a lot of surprise. And I don't deem anything, he is (hence the surprise), but going any further with that is not really fair on him. But, as I have already said, the thread has been enlightening and useful from a pay view, especially from a global perspective. Did I think I was underpaid before? Yes, a bit, but again, this thread has made me reconsider what I should have been looking for and what I am worth.

For the others, yes, I am a global director in a large multinational with 10k staff just in EMEA, 20k+ globally, and that doesn't include our parent. And no, I am not paid a 6 figure salary. Was it a good opportunity when offered? Definitely. Should I have negotiated more ££, absolutely, and I completely accept that is my fault.

Have I thrown my toys out of my pram with my boss? No. While I have sought advice here, I have not "whined" to my boss or threatened etc. A professional conversation was had, and will be followed up on re my own pay review and not referencing my report's salary.

Will I consider leaving if very little comes of this pay review? Quite likely, however I will not just resign, it will be measured and considered carefully.

Thanks

[Monsterlime]

md4776 said:

Deep Thought said:

I think you should do as you're proposing and go contracting.

Whilst contracting isnt as tax efficient as it was, you still pay tax at a much lower rate overall, can offset loads of expenses, etc, etc.

In terms of drawing money from a new limited company, absolutely nothing at all stopping you from taking money out as a salary as soon as your first payment from your client hits the bank account - having to wait 6 months before you can take any money out of the business is plain wrong.

Likewise "building relationships" doesnt come in to it much for me - put your CV up on the main job boards, and check job roles daily. Apply for roles you've at least 90% of the skills for and wait for the phone to ring.

DBA work is a common contractable skill and if you're worth your salt - and it sounds like you are - then you'll be fine.

With regards to leaving your current company with 3 months notice, either resign and wait until close to the end date to start applying (most contracts expect you to be available the following week) or get a contract and negotiate hard on / ignore the three month notice period.

No reason why DBA work cant be done remotely either so negotiate on time required on site. I had a contract with IBM before this one and was only on site something like 10 days out of the whole nine months (the role, whilst not a DBA was data based and didnt require an onsite presence)

I did it three years ago and have never looked back. Wish i'd done it years ago.

Agree with deep thought here. There might be some confusion over what is meant, ie my current contract pays 6 weeks in arrears. Obviously this meant i had the time to find the contract plus the time to get through the onboarding process plus 6 weeks after start date before I saw any more money arriving in the company. This sometimes happens depends on the contract and generally not all that negotiatable .

Once money is in the company you might get advice on how much you withdraw a month in wages and dividend but this is for tax efficiency purposes and should be based on what tax you've already paid in the tax year. You can ignore this and take the lot and pay the tax implications when the time comes if you'd prefer.

Very useful both, thank you. I did suspect the advice on having to wait for a significant period was likely misleading, but wanted to check. Since I will wait to leave, if I do go contracting, to the new year and so I will aim to be leaving/starting a contract around the start of a new tax year (at least within a month or so) and that should help from a tax perspective, but will of course talk to my friend about it and get all my ducks in a row first.

I have no intention of moving to the US. Office is actually in New Jersey, but on the bank of the Hudson very close to the PATH train that goes under the Hudson, into the newish station for the World Trade.
As a tangent, how many people who work in London, actually live in London and pay London prices? Because, based on how busy the commuter trains are, I suspect many more work there than live there.

Just to be clear, before any one else turns up to tell me I am a terrible human being for comparing wages between the UK and US, I now understand the error of my ways and will correct the error. I have also had myself flogged, if that helps others sleep at night. As my wife is due to give birth soon, there will be another of my ilk roaming the planet, be sure to the avoid them as they might give you the plague.

[Monsterlime]

To a degree, I think it was more the tone of some answers, than the answer itself. And I probably missed a smiley off the end of that, so another flogging offence, or maybe I should now elevate to a loss of a limb or something.

As I have said though, this has been helpful and advice appreciated.