Being underpaid at work

Associate
Joined
13 Sep 2018
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6
im not sure if I’m allowed to post this kind of thing in here, but I can’t find information anywhere!

I’ve recently found out that someone in a lower postition than me at work (and he’s new) is being paid more than me per hour.
I’m being paid £8.32 and he is being paid £8.75, I am his supervisor!
All the articles I can find on equal/fair pay are about the gender pay gap, but there’s nothing about if someone the same gender as you in a lower position being paid more.
My manager says it’s because his wage is funded by a government grant and that’s the amount of funding they received to pay him.

I work in social enterprise, basically it’s a community centre/church and I’m a catering supervisor for the cafe, but I also work functions such as weddings and funerals, all I want to find out is if there’s any laws being broken here and how to go about getting a fair wage for my position!
 
Associate
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17 Dec 2009
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2,008
At my last job quite a lot of people were on a higher wage than their supervisor. Depends on the skill set but sometimes just because you're a supervisor doesn't mean you get the highest wage
 

R F

R F

Associate
Joined
7 Apr 2018
Posts
74
Be careful how you approach this because it could be company policy not discuss your pay with colleagues. If you do attempt to get more money, don't bring up that you know someone else is getting more, because that could land you and/or them in trouble.
 
Associate
OP
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13 Sep 2018
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6
I have worked there for almost 6 years. I only found out because I was asked to do costings for a function and had to do the budget for staffing.
At my last job quite a lot of people were on a higher wage than their supervisor. Depends on the skill set but sometimes just because you're a supervisor doesn't mean you get the highest wage
This boy has no skill set, he’s 19, it’s his first job. I’ve been training him.
 
Caporegime
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No, found out the other day that with shift allowance taken into account many of the managers where I am make less than the shop floor staff, even 3 or so bands above us
 
Caporegime
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I could play the gay/religious discrimination card.
Wouldn’t be a lie, I’m a gay athiest man, working in a business funded half by a church


Is he a straight Christian man?

And are you ok with the working environment that would result from that line of attack.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
13 Sep 2018
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6
Is he a straight Christian man?

And are you ok with the working environment that would result from that line of attack.

It’s not like that, it’s a Church of Scotland, I had my wedding reception there which had to be voted on by the church board and they only had one objection out of 42 people.
 
Soldato
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Location, Location!
Ask for a pay raise if you are not happy. If they don't want to give you one then start looking around for a new job where someone will pay you the salary you expect. If you don't ask, you don't get. There's nothing to lose by asking, especially given the circumstances.
 
Soldato
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I am confused, op had said this guy is on more money than him, because he is also receiving a government grant? so what is the problem? Its not the company he works for paying him more money...
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Oct 2008
Posts
5,949
Ask for a pay raise if you are not happy. If they don't want to give you one then start looking around for a new job where someone will pay you the salary you expect. If you don't ask, you don't get. There's nothing to lose by asking, especially given the circumstances.
This is always a difficult one. If you tell them you want pay rise because so and so gets more they may not like. Best thing is to look at the market rate for OP's job and determine from that whether he's paid fairly or not and then ask for a pay rise based on that. However, he needs to be prepared to leave the job though, IMO you cant ask for a rise and if they say no do nothing.
Best thing is probably to start looking for a better paid job and if he finds one he will see if his company ups theyr rate to try to keep him. By finding a better paying job you are proving to your company you are worth more - not just because so and so gets paid more.

Jobs market can be supply and demand driven. If newbie joins after you, there's always a chance they will be earning more and theres nothing wrong with that all. People need to evaluate their own worth and seek better opportunities if they think they're worth more and then if your current company tries to offer more than that's great. I've worked at some orgs with folks moaning about the salary but would never leave. In that case they're fairly paid IMO unless they can prove they are worth more by finding another employer who is willing to pay more and are prepared to leave.

Seems like the person is getting a boost hence why they're earning more but if OP unhappy, time to get out there and do something about it (other jobs).
 
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