Being underpaid at work

Glendenn · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:08

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!

Richard - London · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:19

Your getting paid the amount you agreed to take the job? not sure where the problem is to be fair, you could quit and hope they offer you more?

GravyMonster · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:20

Not sure why you would believe there's any laws being broken at all. You and this other guy are doing a job for the salary the company agreed with you.

If you feel you're not getting a fair wage then you need to talk to your manager.

Lopéz · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:20

Completely legal.

Jonnybmac · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:26

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 · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:27

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.

Glendenn · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:28

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.

Jonnybmac said:
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.

Raymond Lin · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:28

This is a Ronaldo getting paid more than his manager?

Glendenn · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:30

Raymond Lin said:
This is a Ronaldo getting paid more than his manager?

No this is real life.

Malevolence · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:34

Why not simply self-identify as a black, disabled, gay Muslim woman?

Tefal · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:36

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

Glendenn · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:36

Malevolence said:
Why not simply self-identify as a black, disabled, gay Muslim woman?

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

Tefal · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:38

Glendenn said:
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.

Glendenn · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:42

Tefal said:
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.

Hilly · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:42

Glendenn said:
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

I'm afraid there's nothing you can do really, it's either get more money from you boss, or go somewhere else.

Stumble Bum · 13 Sep 2018 at 18:54

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.

Haze · 13 Sep 2018 at 19:27

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...

wesley · 13 Sep 2018 at 19:32

what government grant is it? the boss could be lying

DarrenM343 · 13 Sep 2018 at 19:33

Stumble Bum said:
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).