Another employment issue question

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JHZR2

JHZR2

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OK, here is another employment issue question... I guess the main question I have is, does she go straight to the boss and complain?

Here's the deal. Big differences in the hiring needs of her area last year vs. this year. Last year she got a good job and no sign-on bonus. THey just hired another therapist, who told her that she got a $3000 bonus and the new therapist's rate is 1.25x what my wife's was, though my wife was more experienced.

Kind of sucks that two more or less equals (same degree, etc) would have such a disparity in pay, over the course of one year?

I say she just goes right up, knowing the new therapist's situation, and while I cant see why she should get a sign-on bonus (different environment over just a year), I do think that my wife should be paid equivalently - her pay should be equalized to this person's starting pay.

I suppose there is no recourse but to resign... but she should put the ball in the company's court, right?

Any preferable way to approach this?

Thanks in advance,

JMH
 
This happened during the dot-com bubble. Easier to steal talent with $$$ than develop it in house.

Quit, I say.
 
I agree with eljefino. The only way to be compensated fairly in the days of zero loyalty is to be a ho. It's very important to know your fair market value and push the boundaries when there is a vacuum of talent. Back in the day when I slaved for "the man" I used this technique to get a 25% bump in pay and a payed relocation (from a different kinder employer) to a lower cost of living area that I actually wanted to live in. The problem that she will have taking this issue to her existing boss is that she would most likely be viewed as a "whiner"/not a team player. It's just too easy to get permanently negatively labeled in the minds of the new age overseers that manage our flesh these days.
 
Down here, if she tells the boss that she knows what her "opposition" is on, both are liable for disciplinary action.

Oft, it is signed up when the position is offered that you will not discuss remuneration with other employees, or other companies.

The higher wages are often used to attract new employees, while the existing are assumed to have comfort factors that don't need to be attracted...

inertia in both cases meaning greater/lesser compensation
 
Is the boss a BITOG member ??
54.gif
 
Seriously? What you describe is the unwritten/unspoken code for most salaried employees here in the states, but there are in most cases no formal confinements to discussion. So what happens when you go to get another position outside of your own company? The suitor doesn't ask you how much money you are making at your current position or for a salary history...they just throw out an offer and it's either ok or not enough? Sorry for my ignorance, but I have never had to hire anyone in your neck of the woods for a permanent position before.
 
shannow, i've had letters of pay rises waved at me from a number of blokes this last year (who make slightly less for a lot less work and responsibility). I've been waiting 15 months because I started just before the annual review... Sweet sweet sweet october... can't wait.

I grew up in a community where no one ever discussed thier income, so when I got with my missus she went and told her whole family what I make, I was a bit peeved at that.

The the OP, maybe she should wait six months and then see how things are, and ask for a raise, and then leave? maybe the connection between her leaving and the new arrival's stellar pay would be less obvious down the track. people have short memories and that could be a way of not stepping on toes, if you are willing to wait 6 months for a resolution, I know I would be very hard pressed to.

As far as I am aware my boss (and everyone else) KNOWS they can jump ship for higher pay whenever they want to... and a few guys threaten to leave every now and then when they want a payrise, and the company has to pay to keep them because no one else will do the job.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: JHZR2



I suppose there is no recourse but to resign... but she should put the ball in the company's court, right?

Any preferable way to approach this?



It's normal for new comers to be paid more in many professional sectors. Having said that, this really boils down to what your wife's market opportunities are. This shouldn't be looked at in a vaccuum between your wife and the company. If she does leave, can she get a job quickly and at higher pay?

I was in a similar situation, but I waited until I was being recruited by other places. Then that me a ton of bargaining power. I simply told my boss (in a very cordial manner of course!) where I stood in terms of the "market" and gave him an opportunity to keep me. He was much more afraid once he knew I was being recruited.

She can approach her boss but without outside opportunities, but I'd say the odds are against her getting what she wants. And she needs to tread lightly without alienating her boss.
 
The biggest lesson here is that she can have no reasonable expectation of "fair". Now she can retain her own image of it in her conduct, but don't expect parity or equity in kind.
 
Fair? What's that? It sounds to me like her bosses are approaching this as a labor market rather than a network of traditional relationships based on loyalty and trust. Labor markets are really confusing because you often get this hybrid situation. I think the best thing for any employee to do is to learn the rules/expectations of the game in her company/sector and operate within them. If this company does see it as a market, I'm not surprised newcomers are getting paid more. Market situations change. It's no different from people buying new Toyota Siennas now for 20% less than I paid 1.5 years ago. Is that "unfair" to me? I don't think so.

Having said that, I always give my boss a chance to show me some loyalty.....I told him he can retain me for below market if he does something for me NOW. He didn't so I instantly switched to market mode. Once I got a counter-offer, my price went up. He then tried to offer me what I asked for originally, but I told him it was too late because I added a disloyalty premium (I called it a "risk premium" which is more PC). On top of that, I switched to market mode and charged him an incompetence premium for not understanding how the market works. In the end, he offered me 15% more than what I originally asked for and it still wasn't enough......
 
Thanks. But it was very stressful and difficult emotionally to deal with people on such a "cold" level. But if I didn't, then I become a company patsy, and no job is worth it if they don't respect you. I hope not to have to do it again for a long time.
 
Originally Posted By: GROUCHO MARX
....sounds more like poker.


Actually, my boss was playing poker. I wasn't bluffing.
wink.gif
 
I did something similar to what VeeDub did during the DotCom stuff back in 1997. I had been with the company for 5 years and while I was moving up, my salary was really lagging compared to what new dotcommers where getting so I shopped myself around.

I got several offers and came back to my employer giving them a chance to come close to matching before I decided. They came close enough.

I liked the folks I was working for, so I wasn't sure I wanted to leave, but was ready if I had to.

The next year, when my daughter was born, I had "trained" my boss and he offered a 20% increase without me asking when she was born.

Sometimes you have to shop yourself around to see what your labor is really worth.

I don't think I could pull that off today, but 11 years ago, the market was different.

To some extent, it's coming back in IT. Not like the 90's, but it's getting better.
 
Originally Posted By: javacontour


....I had "trained" my boss and he offered a 20% increase without me asking....



This is a great way of putting it. Sometimes, the organization will push around employees unless they know there would be consequences. When I was trying to decide whether I would stay or go, I made my boss as nervous as I could....in fact, I stepped on the gas pedal. Even if I stayed, I wanted them to remember so they wouldn't make me jump through the hoops again in the future.
 
"I got several offers and came back to my employer giving them a chance to come close to matching before I decided. They came close enough."

I was always taught that this is a good way to get yourself fired. That is, once the boss knows you're shopping yourself around, he starts shopping around, too. And if he finds someone willing to work for less than what he's paying you (or even the same amount), you're a goner.

If you don't like your salary, find a new employer and hope they pay more.
 
Originally Posted By: MinivanMauler
"I got several offers and came back to my employer giving them a chance to come close to matching before I decided. They came close enough."

I was always taught that this is a good way to get yourself fired. That is, once the boss knows you're shopping yourself around, he starts shopping around, too. And if he finds someone willing to work for less than what he's paying you (or even the same amount), you're a goner.

If you don't like your salary, find a new employer and hope they pay more.


I agree that in some industries this is true. I think the employee really needs to read the tea leaves carefully before pulling something like this. The key is market opportunities. If there is an excess supply of labor and the employee is replaceable, then the employee needs to think twice.
 
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