What does your contract say? What is your official job description? These will be your arguing points.
When I was hired on in 2007, this was a small company. We don't have contracts or official job descriptions (in fact, this is one of the issues the larger company is having with us right now). So to answer your question, I don't know. I would have to email the larger company and ask for my "file," which I'm not even sure is a thing.
That is a lot of B.S. you are dealing with. I'm going to think on this a bit more. My gut is that after maternity leave I would not be coming back if I were in your shoes. Also, it is inappropriate that your boss is also HR. Is there no one to talk to that oversees HR at the larger company? I would also want a detailed job description, in writing, since he keeps changing the responsibilities.
There is an HR department at our parent company. But I don't know what I would say if I emailed them. I have never been in this position before and do not know what's appropriate.
When the larger company came in and assigned us us our salaries and job titles, I got a particular title. I have no idea what went into coming up with that title, because it is my boss who told them what I do -- He is, by the way, largely unaware of what anyone here does, so it was upsetting to a lot of people that this company didn't consult us to determine our own job descriptions and salaries. Since then, I have taken on a lot more but have not been handed a new job title or seen these duties relegated to any official documentation.
Recently when this company told my boss (the business manager, so he is the boss to a lot of people) to task us all with writing up our job descriptions, I included all of the managerial-type duties I've taken on in my list -- This is where I fear I screwed myself. I had approached him prior to submitting my job responsibilities to express my concern that, in doing so, these would de facto become my job (under my current title) when in reality I was taking these tasks on under a conditional basis of achieving a better title. He insisted that this was just something he was asking of people because the larger company wants to restructure us and make us more efficient; that it was a formality to help him make an organizational chart. I have no way of knowing (without contacting their company's HR directly) if this was ever submitted to their HR.
If it was, I could see how the case could be made that these duties are now my job and I cannot hand them back. However, I am not sure if I can also make the case that I was never paid extra for any of this.
I could email their HR and explain all of this to them, but in the end I don't want to look like a whiny employee who is pissed she didn't get her way. But I also feel the unfamiliar need to seriously protect myself for the first time in my working history.
I know this is all really complicated and weird -- If you've ever worked for a small company hopefully you understand that the politics are very different. And being bought out and reorganized by a larger company makes this even more confusing and complicated.
That really sucks and your extra $14 is a slap in the face. I'm sorry you are dealing with this. I was in a similar situation when I worked in a grocery store I went from being a checker to night manager/floral & camera bar manager and never got a pay raise. I was only making $9 a hour too. When I talked to my boss about getting more money for the additional responsibility I was told that I had hit a pay plato (sp?) and would not ever make any more money than I was currently making. I know for a fact that managers and head of departments make over $20 and hour as my H is head of a department at the same store. I left a few weeks later and found something better. If I were you I would try and talk to HR at the company that purchased yours and see if they can help you. Or as Brookethecat said maybe not go back after your maternity leave. Hope you can find a new job while you are on maturnity leave that will pay and respect you for what you are worth!
Is the company that took over part of a larger corporation? does the new company that took over have a "whistleblower" line so to say? unionized? If you know for a fact that other men are doing the work and getting paid for, you have some weight for a discrimination claim but that process is often very ugly.
do you have your paperwork for when you were hired that outlined your original duties? Add what you do now to those and ask him again how he WON'T give you a promotion for them. Usually when a company "reclassifies" your position they have to have you sign something. I've been through that before, and usually it's just a reclassify with the intent to bring your title, duties and wage up to what you are currently doing.
i hate to say it, but i don't think you will get very far without some sort of legal action or larger force behind you.
get out of there as soon as you can.
I'm afraid you're right, and that's something I'm completely unprepared to take on (legal action). There isn't much I have by way of proof of gender discrimination either -- the other department heads are not doing identical work as me, only comparable work. The argument can be made that they have credentials and/or experience that justifies a higher salary. I don't think that's the case in the slightest, but the burden of proof would be on me, and I don't have it.
The paperwork I was provided when this larger company bought us out did not include a detailed job description, only a title and a corresponding salary. I have actually checked places like GlassDoor.com, but since our positions here don't seem to translate to their larger infrastructure, matching job titles don't exist there. Bear in mind, this was a tiny company of probably 20 people I started working for that has been absorbed into a much, much larger one. And, sadly for me, no unions in sight.
I completley understand. I worked for a small company for the last 8 1/2 years. We got bought/sold/merged into a much larger company this last November, and there have been growing pains ever since. The politics of a small company are very different, and a lot of things (to my frustration) would not be put in writing, just verbally given, then resinded, then changed, etc. The larger company is now reorganizing us so we have actual policies on paper, has a whole HR department, and its all just very different than what we are used to. But ultimately for the good, because they are very involved and want us to continue giving awesome client care.
That's why I think some interaction with the larget company/HR is warrented.
I think you're definitely right. I just need to figure out how to break that ice. For years the culture here is that our current HR can't be trusted with actual discrete issues, so that's the mentality I've had about HR even with this larger company. Even though I know larger companies take things like this far more seriously, this is why I've been so afraid to email them or contact them. I would like to ask them what my current job responsibilities are on an official level and/or what they were told they were when determining my current job title and salary two years ago, but I am afraid that they would consult my in-house boss for this and would thus raise suspicions that I'm up to something.
Oh wow, I'm really mad for you! My sister is in an almost identical situation and it freaking sucks. She was told by her COO that she was going to be head of her department because (like you) she knew all the ins and outs of the entire department and she pretty well was already running it. At the last moment, they hired a man who knows nothing about what they do there. To make matters worse, he is a finger pointer, blaming everything that goes wrong on others when in fact, it's him that screws up on a daily basis. When the COO and CEO wanted to know information, the new department manager would ask my sister for the answers, then he would go report back and take credit. This department head was so bad that eventually he did get removed from that position, but instead of making my sister the new department head they told her she was "unofficially in charge". So no pay raise, no title change. Just basically doing the work and not getting paid for it. I'm tired of seeing women in these positions. I agree with the others and think you should start with HR, I'm sure they would be professional Where's @MrsLady? Isn't she in HR? She might have some good advice. Sorry I didn't have much to offer!
Oh wow, I'm really mad for you! My sister is in an almost identical situation and it freaking sucks. She was told by her COO that she was going to be head of her department because (like you) she knew all the ins and outs of the entire department and she pretty well was already running it. At the last moment, they hired a man who knows nothing about what they do there. To make matters worse, he is a finger pointer, blaming everything that goes wrong on others when in fact, it's him that screws up on a daily basis. When the COO and CEO wanted to know information, the new department manager would ask my sister for the answers, then he would go report back and take credit. This department head was so bad that eventually he did get removed from that position, but instead of making my sister the new department head they told her she was "unofficially in charge". So no pay raise, no title change. Just basically doing the work and not getting paid for it. I'm tired of seeing women in these positions. I agree with the others and think you should start with HR, I'm sure they would be professional Where's @MrsLady? Isn't she in HR? She might have some good advice. Sorry I didn't have much to offer!
This sounds exactly like my COO. And I have a sneaking suspicion that they'll put a man in charge instead of me if they can find a way.
Honestly, I know a lot of people in your similar situation. Are you in an at-will state? Because if so, they can fire you for whatever they want (that is not in violation of public interest). It's a shitty situation but a common trap in this crappy economy.
Are there other possibilities for work? Does your boss have a boss? I don't know that HR can really help, but you can try. Just realize you may be talking to a wall as their interest lies with the company.
I'm sorry you're going through this. I really hope you find a solution. *hugs*
I am actually not sure if I work in an at-will state. I have had the same job since I moved here and never found a reason to research my rights as an employee in this state. I looked it up, but the legislative language was confusing to me. Maybe @LauraT25 would know? I am definitely going to be looking for another job, but the market here is.....tight. I live in a small town with a lot of educated spouses around — it is a college town, so professors who come to work on campus usually bring their educated spouses who end up as overqualified admin assistants or whatever they can find. Also, I am very, very pregnant at the moment...so part of the reason I feel so antsy is because there isn't anything I can do right now in terms of finding a new job. Even if I thought a company WOULD hire a super pregnant lady, I would have to leave my paid maternity leave situation I have now. It's worth it for me to wait this out. But as a plus, I doubt they'll fire an eight-month pregnant lady. I plan to start looking around in August.
I am sorry. No advice, but if this is the South African boss (you are the one with a South African boss?) you can tell him he's being a doos. But don't tell him that if you want to keep your job.
I am sorry. No advice, but if this is the South African boss (you are the one with a South African boss?) you can tell him he's being a doos. But don't tell him that if you want to keep your job.
I am the one who has the South African boss, but it's not this guy. Still, maybe I'll call my South African boss a doos for laughs. Hopefully we'll all have a giggle and I'll still have a job the next day :-P
Ziegeficker
member
Re: I need work advice (Uh, pretty long) -- DD
When the larger company came in and assigned us us our salaries and job titles, I got a particular title. I have no idea what went into coming up with that title, because it is my boss who told them what I do -- He is, by the way, largely unaware of what anyone here does, so it was upsetting to a lot of people that this company didn't consult us to determine our own job descriptions and salaries. Since then, I have taken on a lot more but have not been handed a new job title or seen these duties relegated to any official documentation.
Recently when this company told my boss (the business manager, so he is the boss to a lot of people) to task us all with writing up our job descriptions, I included all of the managerial-type duties I've taken on in my list -- This is where I fear I screwed myself. I had approached him prior to submitting my job responsibilities to express my concern that, in doing so, these would de facto become my job (under my current title) when in reality I was taking these tasks on under a conditional basis of achieving a better title. He insisted that this was just something he was asking of people because the larger company wants to restructure us and make us more efficient; that it was a formality to help him make an organizational chart. I have no way of knowing (without contacting their company's HR directly) if this was ever submitted to their HR.
If it was, I could see how the case could be made that these duties are now my job and I cannot hand them back. However, I am not sure if I can also make the case that I was never paid extra for any of this.
I could email their HR and explain all of this to them, but in the end I don't want to look like a whiny employee who is pissed she didn't get her way. But I also feel the unfamiliar need to seriously protect myself for the first time in my working history.
I know this is all really complicated and weird -- If you've ever worked for a small company hopefully you understand that the politics are very different. And being bought out and reorganized by a larger company makes this even more confusing and complicated.
The paperwork I was provided when this larger company bought us out did not include a detailed job description, only a title and a corresponding salary. I have actually checked places like GlassDoor.com, but since our positions here don't seem to translate to their larger infrastructure, matching job titles don't exist there. Bear in mind, this was a tiny company of probably 20 people I started working for that has been absorbed into a much, much larger one. And, sadly for me, no unions in sight.
This sounds exactly like my COO. And I have a sneaking suspicion that they'll put a man in charge instead of me if they can find a way.
I am actually not sure if I work in an at-will state. I have had the same job since I moved here and never found a reason to research my rights as an employee in this state. I looked it up, but the legislative language was confusing to me. Maybe @LauraT25 would know? I am definitely going to be looking for another job, but the market here is.....tight. I live in a small town with a lot of educated spouses around — it is a college town, so professors who come to work on campus usually bring their educated spouses who end up as overqualified admin assistants or whatever they can find. Also, I am very, very pregnant at the moment...so part of the reason I feel so antsy is because there isn't anything I can do right now in terms of finding a new job. Even if I thought a company WOULD hire a super pregnant lady, I would have to leave my paid maternity leave situation I have now. It's worth it for me to wait this out. But as a plus, I doubt they'll fire an eight-month pregnant lady. I plan to start looking around in August.