So, how much was your pay rise this year?

£250% for me.

 

Pfah! I haven't had a pay rise, in real terms, since I went permie
here 7 years ago. Some years my salary's actually gone down wrt
inflation rates.

In that time bonuses have arrived, then been increased in amount
twice, currently at .5-1.5 * 14%, performance[1] based, which is OK.

But last year I didn't even get my full quota of the measly
inflation-based increase of ~2%, as I'm "too close to the top of the
scale for your functional level". Fuckers.

[1] Combination of company profit and individual goal-based.

 

"Then it's about time we discussed moving me into the lower quartile of
the next grade then".

 

at our place, the lowest quartile of grade x is lower than the highest
quartile of grade x-1.

 

Well I guess there is a certain 'corporate' type logic to that, but you
knew what I meant.

 

The way things are going with our lot, I'd say the same will happen
here too.

 

Can't happen here. My 'job role' occupies 3 'functional levels', which
are nothing like as rigid, one per job, as they would be in the UK.
I'm on the upper one already, so no go there.

Getting a higher grade would mean first persuading upper management
(let alone my immediate line managers) that my job was significantly
different to that of my colleagues, which it isn't, and then getting
them to persuade HR to create a new job role especially for me, which
itself would then be subject to an assessment, and almost certainly
would not get higher than my current level.

So basically, I'm overpaid and have been since I started[1], so I
can't complain too much


[1] Although I never knew why, when I first started, they put me on
the level/salary they did. I asked my cost-centre manager about it a
few years later and he just said "well I didn't really have much
choice, did I?" which I could only interpret as meaning that he didn't
think I'd accept a lower salary than my wife, who'd started in a
management role some months earlier. Sexist? Maybe. But We're not
complaining.

 

At least you get inflation based raises.

 

Better talk to the union rep

(put smiley here =>)

 

In message

Yeah, recession's done me proud

 

But no other raises or promotions. In normal situations there's zero
chance of going from, say, programmer to senior to principal
programmer, unless you specifically apply for a different job with
management responsibilities. So those that have most experience in a
role are potentially paid less than their more junior colleagues.

 

That's standard in some of the places i've worked at. It's de rigeur
for some techs to earn more than their managers ferinstance ..

Paul.

 

Na, if I didn't like my job, I'd leave and get another one. Sod all that
standing around in the cold, huddled around a 50-gallon drum fire.