Skyhook
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"But keep up the hard work"Back in the office today after a week off on holiday, which meant I missed last Friday’s meeting where the company’s yearly performance, projects, profit and projections for next year are revealed.
And of course, the annual pay rise.
Except there won’t be a pay rise this year apparently. Nothing, nowt, nadda, as “the cost of living hasn’t gone up.”
Well, thanks for fu*k all…
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garry
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I went to Tesco this weekend. I don't think I'm price sensitive at all, but I was shocked by the bill. Struck that it was much more expensive than my last trip. My wife reckons food has gone up loads over the last 12 months
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PG
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Join the club! No rise here either this year.
I am sure that your union will have you all out on strike straight away demanding more money, less hours, better pensions and retiring earlier to boot 
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"him"
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No rise for me this year either...
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Big Blue
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None here either, which is good as the formula agreed for 2009 rises should have led to a pay cut.
Regarding food prices, a lot of food will have increased being that it or its raw materials are sourced from Europe and the £ is just dead weak.
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Humphrey The Pug
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I haven't had a pay rise for a long long time, the cost of cars have been going up and as I am commision based on a percentage of the overall profit that is my raise!!
Well I suppose I've still got a job.
As for food going up, definately it has and quite considerabley too, we use Sainsbury's at the mo and it's definately cheaper than Tesco's.
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Big TC
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I haven't had a pay rise in 2 years....
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Mark
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Pay rise? I'm quite happy to cling onto the income that I have at the moment.
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Bob Sacramento
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If I meet anyone who is getting a pay rise this year I rub them for luck.
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Rodge
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I went into work last week and they said "What are you doing here? You were made redundant earlier this month!"
My last pay rise was in April last year. 12%
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woof woof
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I got 3% earlier in the year, dunno what the next one will be. Still, at least I have a job and no cut in hours.
I don't know what the official inflation figure is but some stuff is rocketing up. Stuff used to go up 1p or 2p at a time but these days it can go up 8p, 10p or more. Some stuff has gone up 70-80% in the past year and some stuff appears to have gone up less but the packaging has changed and you get less now.
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Skyhook
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I don’t care about you lot, I only care about me.
To put it into some context we’ve had the busiest year I’ve known in the ten I’ve been here – we’ve had to get contractors in, even sub-contract work out. I’ve been asked to work evenings and weekends. (Two hours a week for free then time and a third).
Which admittedly is frankly amazing as we are usually the first to suffer in rough financial times as clients cut their budget for the forthcoming year.
I guess my main beef is how low the salaries are here to start with, considering what we do. Six years or so ago we had a round of redundancies, I was shown the door but asked to come back six months later. Of course I asked for several grand more on my wages and got it – I shudder to think what I’d be on if I hadn’t. We don’t do ‘merit’ rises like other companies as you gain experience in the job, as you become more ‘worthy’ to the company. Fair enough – I can always leave.
But… I really enjoy (as much as one can) this job; I like my workmates, I find the work challenging and stimulating (steady alan), seeing a machine I’ve designed through production, build and getting it on site. It’s rewarding, and the company is good enough to take a relaxed view on my..ahem… flexible approach to time keeping in the morning. (Though I always work the time back)
Maybe I want the moon on a stick – a job I’m happy in and a wage I feel reflects my skills and experience.
Some thinking to do, I feel…
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TimR
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| Skyhook wrote: |
Some thinking to do, I feel… |
Now isn't really the best time to be looking but the situation is certainly worth remembering when the market picks up.
Years ago everyone at the firm I worked for got a shit payrise.
I think it was the first year we had proper reviews.
Anyway the following day the partner who had carried out most of the reviews, and given out the payrise news, turned up in a brand new Volvo 850 estate.
More than a few people headed straight for his door that day 
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scamper
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What are you doing on here when you should be working, Skyhook?
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Skyhook
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Lunch break
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garry
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We've had a great year and not increased salaries. I've had to justify this a few times. The reason is simply lack of confidence in the market. It's equitable in that no-one has got an increase. We're simply sitting on a bit more cash just in case the upturn that Mr Brown thinks is around the corner doesn't happen.
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scamper
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| Skyhook wrote: | | Lunch break |
Lunch is for wimps in the private sector!
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ALF
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Sorry to hear that - very common these days though. I think employers just try it on at times like now, assuming people will be in job preservation mode rather than "I've got the hump - I'm off to find something better" mode.
Inflation and interest rates might be very low, but so much of what we buy is imported, and the pound so weak compared to pre-recession levels, many things have gone up a lot in price. Oil was very cheap a while back, but petrol here didn't fully reflect that, since we buy in dollars. Plenty of other examples...
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Roadsterstu
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| garry wrote: | | I went to Tesco this weekend. I don't think I'm price sensitive at all, but I was shocked by the bill. Struck that it was much more expensive than my last trip. My wife reckons food has gone up loads over the last 12 months |
I noticed it sometime ago. It seems everyone is out to rip as much cash out of the paying public as they can. Banks being first in the queue as usual.
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simonp
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I've had it twice! Our pay review was in April where they gave us naff all but promised to give a second review in October. We got nothing again!
Our nearest similar type factory is Cereal Partners in Trowbridge. They got a 5% pay rise guaranteed for 3 years, so our wages will be way behind theirs in a year or 2 whereas they were quite similar at the start of the year.
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scamper
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No rise here, but Mrs Scamper I think has had 2 this year to provide my beer money - a general pay rise plus another for rank time served.
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Humphrey The Pug
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| Roadsterstu wrote: | | garry wrote: | | I went to Tesco this weekend. I don't think I'm price sensitive at all, but I was shocked by the bill. Struck that it was much more expensive than my last trip. My wife reckons food has gone up loads over the last 12 months |
I noticed it sometime ago. It seems everyone is out to rip as much cash out of the paying public as they can. Banks being first in the queue as usual. |
You'll get a pay rise every year regardless won't you?
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DaveGibson
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During the whole of the nineties, where I worked, we had nothing in cost-of-living increases. All we had were merit rises, which had to be earned by achieving the objectives we were given each year. Some years even these were constrained because there was a philosophy in place which said that those who earned more than the mid-point for the grade (as I did) should be held back in favour of those who were under the mid-point.
I did get 3% on my pension this year, though.
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Frank Bullitt
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Not sure on what we'll be getting next year but it is unlikely to be a rise.
A good friend works for a small IT company on the sales and development side and has been aware for a while that things aren't looking good - he has just been told they are on a 10% pay-cut and is well aware they are relying on one big (hopefully imminent) contract he has been working on from closing the door. His health has been suffering and he is feeling the personal pressure this will cause hugely as his wife also does some work from home for the company.
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Blarno
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No rise for us this year either, despite the company having a better turnover. Something to do with increasing energy costs and not getting certain jobs right first time.
When I first started, we got a pay rise and bonus in August, and a bottle of your favourite tipple at Christmas.
The next year we got a rise, bonus and no bottle.
This year we got naff all, not holding out for a bottle at Crimbo.
The trouble is, certain employees who have been there longer than me have grown to expect the bonus every year and are now pissed off that they aren't getting one. They've decided to work to rule, doing everything by the book, not helping anyone and doing the bare minimum required, sometimes even making more mistakes. This pisses me off because I work my arse off when it isn't even required. I don't do this to impress, I do it to make mine and my shift workers' lives easier, but we're getting tarred with the same brush.
I don't care if I get a bonus or not, it'd be nice, but I'm not going to cry myself to sleep and behave like a petulent little child because I don't get one. You have to bear in mind these are all grown men, in their 40s and 50s, chucking their teddies out over some money they, by rights, shouldn't be getting paid!
I like the job, I like the place and I like most of the people, but it puts a real shitter on your day having to work with muppets like that.
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Chris M Wants a V-10
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I do the family food shopping so I have noticed the alarming rise in food prices this year (and the steady rise over the years.... potatoes at 7p per pound, anyone?)
We are having a lousy year at work as far as turnover goes, down around 50% on last year. I think we got about 2% last January and I recon we could be on for a fat round zero this coming January even if we are still making money. Having worked in manufacturing all my working life, I regret to say that I have several experiences of zero percent "rises", and it's not pleasant especially when you see those at the top getting new company cars etc.
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gonnabuildabuggy
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I know several people (MD, IT director, plus others) working for different firms who've had to take pay cuts - either lack of business or lack of profit so I guess having a job is a fairly good result at the moment.
Lots of firms seem to be doing this to avoid redundancies and that then depends on your attitude to redundancies.
That said I've been where you are Skyhook - company that never gave big rises but was happy to pay more for new starters - needless to say lots of us left, despite the usual promise of £2K (this amount became known as a "Brian" as he was the first to leave and be offered it) to stay once when you handed your notice in.
Lack of company car promised as well meant that driving my 2.0GLi from my new employers to work in my last week was particularly satisfying as it was better than any of my previous employers cars other than directors.
Revenge can be soo sweet 
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DaveGibson
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| Chris M Wants a V-10 wrote: | | .......... potatoes at 7p per pound, anyone?)........... |
I can remember when they were 2d - never mind 7p.
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Grampa
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| Blarno wrote: | | No rise for us this year either, despite the company having a better turnover |
A better turnover doesn't necessarily mean things are better overall. I used to work for a company that was in such a competitive business that although our turnover was increasing year on year it was the only way to stave off ever decreasing margins and we were making less and less profit every year. I left in the end because I got fed up of exhausting myself (I was on the sales side) just to keep our heads above water.
However we did communicate the financial position of the company month by month to all employees, including the costs of reworking mistakes (which often came as a shock), so people were more understanding of a lower or no pay increase.
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TimR
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| gonnabuildabuggy wrote: |
That said I've been where you are Skyhook - company that never gave big rises but was happy to pay more for new starters - needless to say lots of us left, despite the usual promise of £2K (this amount became known as a "Brian" as he was the first to leave and be offered it) to stay once when you handed your notice in.
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That seemed to be how all the companies I ever worked for were run.
The easiest way to get a decent rise was to move job but then you stagnate the following year because they gave you so much to join.
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ALF
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| TimR wrote: | | gonnabuildabuggy wrote: |
That said I've been where you are Skyhook - company that never gave big rises but was happy to pay more for new starters - needless to say lots of us left, despite the usual promise of £2K (this amount became known as a "Brian" as he was the first to leave and be offered it) to stay once when you handed your notice in.
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That seemed to be how all the companies I ever worked for were run.
The easiest way to get a decent rise was to move job but then you stagnate the following year because they gave you so much to join. |
It does seem incredibly common to pay more for new joiners than for existing staff. It is a form of "the grass is greener", especially in sales - managers seem to assume new highly-paid people will make a difference their current staff cannot. I've never actually seen this be the case, mainly because - particularly in services companies - there are other limiting factors in place besides sales performance that senior managers just will not accept. I left one job that was going really well because the salaries they were giving new people were well beyond what the incumbent team doing the same job were getting - and I had personally closed their biggest new contract for years and was continuing to grow that customer, wheras the new guys were blagging some of the best existing contracts then doing nothing with them.
This kind of attitude of always buying in unproven expertise rather than properly examining internal barriers to current performance and actually training/developing/motivating existing staff is one of the main factors limiting growth pretty much everywhere I've worked.
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TimR
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At my last firm there was a guy who had been there for about 10 years.
He had 2 years less experience than me but was otherwise similarly qualified.
Eventually we found out he was on HALF what I was earning and only slightly more than new-starts with a degree but no other experience at all 
A couple of us pretty much frog-marched him up to the managers office to get the situation resolved.
That's accountancy for you
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Martin
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No pay rise of bonus for me this year either, although I did get a bit more cash with the new job (less than I expected though). However, it's the same for everyone else in our company and right through the 3rd parties. However, I think the buyers/merchandisers still got some sort of bonus based on their individual performance, we have to hit a company profit trigger.
I am hopeful for a small pay rise next year and a proportion of bonus as we are doing fairly well. Fingers crossed.
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gonnabuildabuggy
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| TimR wrote: | At my last firm there was a guy who had been there for about 10 years.
He had 2 years less experience than me but was otherwise similarly qualified.
Eventually we found out he was on HALF what I was earning and only slightly more than new-starts with a degree but no other experience at all
A couple of us pretty much frog-marched him up to the managers office to get the situation resolved.
That's accountancy for you |
Unfortunately I think it's individuals and desire to rock the boat. I've always got paid what I think I'm worth - sometimes from the manager, sometimes through pushing for it and arguing my case, when I wasn't I left - unfortunately that company let the "talent" leave and was left with those that should have gone but couldn't.
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PG
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And of course not only do new people often get paid more, they then take up an absolute load of time to train before they are productive. And the training falls to the current people. Which means that these new people cost a shit load more than their salary.
But of course if you are a macho manager and have read the "right" books, turning over your staff and bringing in new people shows how macho you are. Twats.
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Clunes
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I think I've been a permanent employee with this company for about 5 years now and my pay rises have equated to about 6.5%.
5% of that was a blanket (company wide) pay rise a few years back but they took 5% off our bonus incentive - so at the end of the year we ended up with less.
The other 1.5% was a genuine pay rise due to working to a level above my grade - 2 years ago and I still work above my grade (promotions are hard to come by since they have to come with a pay increase)
Our bonus pot was about 70% of previous years though my personal performance brought this back up to normal (about 13% of basic)
Seeing the billions of dollars of profit we still make (even in a bad year) does make it harder to swallow when the canteen prices go up regularly because of inflation, the free fruit/soft drinks and hot milk for coffee get revoked, broadband and mobile entitlement get pulled, training and travel slashed (even if it has gone towards a $1.5 billion dollar expense saving)
However, I enjoy my job, I get payed in line with my role in other comparable companies, I get on well the people I work with and it's a great company that offers other incentives/benefits so I consider myself relatively lucky to still be in the position I'm in right now and the savings the company has made has enabled us to keep people in our team we would otherwise have lost.
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Skyhook
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Reading all the replies and thinking of all those here who have lost their jobs recently (Good luck Stunters) I guess my original post was a tad churlish.
Still, habits of a lifetime, and all that...
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Martin
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I wouldn't worry, you have to look after yourself and your family!!
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Racing
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There were no pay rises at my law firm either this year. And, more to the point, lawyers usually progress through pay bands annually as your seniority is measured by your number of years of post-qualification experience. This year, not only were there no year-on-year pay rises, but we were also frozen at last year's pay bands. To say that was annoying would be an understatement.
If they do it again next year (is done 1st May each year), I will throw all my toys out of my pram!
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Bob Sacramento
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On a more positive note; my neighbour, who works for Royal Bank of Scotland, has just got a nice pay rise and is in line for a Christmas bonus.
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Boxer6
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| Bob Sacramento wrote: | | On a more positive note; my neighbour, who works for Royal Bank of Scotland, has just got a nice pay rise and is in line for a Christmas bonus. |
Bully for him!! Don't we (well, the government) own 57% of them or something? Tell him from us, as shareholders, he isn't getting it after all!!!
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SpecB
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| Boxer6 wrote: | | Bob Sacramento wrote: | | On a more positive note; my neighbour, who works for Royal Bank of Scotland, has just got a nice pay rise and is in line for a Christmas bonus. |
Bully for him!! Don't we (well, the government) own 57% of them or something? Tell him from us, as shareholders, he isn't getting it after all!!! |
We've just removed our safety deposit boxes from RBS today as they now want a fee (the manager wasn't sure what level) just for accessing your box. We had three and they want £45 per annum on top of that for each box.
I've bought a safe instead. Seriously considering moving banks - our business banking on one account runs at £95 per quarter in bank charges.
I hope you fight your corner successfully.
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DarthBalls
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I'm just chuffed to have got my first wage slip in a permanent job for over 5 years.
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Gooner
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I've not had a payrise since my last one in November last year. I don't suspect I'll get one either and as the company is massively unlikely to give us a bonus this year as there's no way we're going to hit our company target (which is 2008 work done and profit + 10% - what the f**k they got that idea from I don't know). I'm of the camp though that I've got a job, which is more than many other people in this country can boast about.
Foods definitely going up, I can't believe how little £50 gets you in Tesco these days.
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gonnabuildabuggy
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| Bob Sacramento wrote: | | On a more positive note; my neighbour, who works for Royal Bank of Scotland, has just got a nice pay rise and is in line for a Christmas bonus. |
Now that makes me sick. 
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PG
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| gonnabuildabuggy wrote: | | Bob Sacramento wrote: | | On a more positive note; my neighbour, who works for Royal Bank of Scotland, has just got a nice pay rise and is in line for a Christmas bonus. |
Now that makes me sick. |
+1
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'G'
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I got a 0.4% payrise.
They needn't have bothered.
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Racing
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RBS - Government-owned bank right, government is trying to say banks should lower cost of lending, base rate is 0.5%.............and RBS personal loan rates are.......17% APR!!!!!!
But elsewhere you can get them for 8-9% APR...
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