Male colleague earns more, challenged boss and now I might lose job! :(

[Lady8]

I could really use some advice please! I work for a large global media company in the marketing department as part of the events team in London. I started 5 months ago and I love my job.

I earn £28k per annum for what is supposed to be a 37.5 hour week but on average, I work 45 hours a week and some weeks it can be as much as 70 hours per week.There is no overtime or time off in lieu but I am told that this is the nature of the business.

It's a really good company so I decided to suck it up and not complain about all the unpaid hours as I thought my male colleague was in the same position.

Our team assistant left before Xmas and she informed me that my male colleague was earning £35k per annum, £7k more than me. She told me in confidence as she felt it was very unfair. I am 33 and he is 32 and we started around the same time. He has 6 years marketing experience working for 1 company and he did Drama in college. I have 6 years marketing experience in various companies and I have a marketing degree and I specialised in event management at a post-graduate level. I also have 5 years retail management experience. I later told my male colleague my salary over work drinks and he was shocked and he confirmed he was earning £35k.

I get on very well with my boss and I see her as a mentor and a friend. I decided to have an informal chat with her over a cup of coffee after our weekly 1 to 1 catch-up. I asked her firstly was she happy with my performance and was there anything I could improve on and she said just continue the way I am, I'm doing great and she loves having me on the team. I then said that I was aware of a significant pay gap on the team and I just wanted to get some guidance as I had never encountered this before.

Her demeanour quickly changed and she asked "how do you know that?" I said it wasn't anyone on the team. She then asked me was it the team assistant who left? And I said nothing. She told me the team assistant wasn't being truthful and the pay gap was very small because his job requires longer hours. She was blatantly lying to me.

I then said I knew there was £7k of a difference and at that point she went mad!! She shouted "I am so f&@ked off that you know this confidential information, how do you know for sure he earns £7k more than you? Tell me?? I just blurted out in panic, that I confirmed the information with my male colleague. She then said my male colleague had more relevant events experience than me and they head-hunted him from another company and that was the budget for him. She said she was offered less for my role and that's just the way it is. I tired to challenge this but she got so angry and I got scared. She then said I needed to work harder and show my value to the company. She went to call HR and after, she called me into a room. She said she had taken the ex team assistants reference away and she said she is going to caution my male colleague about discussing salaries.

She said by "bringing this up" I have now affected the moral of the team and she has to speak to the whole department about company confidentially.

I really feel I have jeopardised my job I am in my 6 month probation period so I'm afraid she will just tell me to leave. I feel very bullied and backed into a corner. I work very hard and this whole situation is so unfair. In hindsight, I was naive to think I could just have a small chat about this issue as it now is a huge problem,.

She has booked me a slot to go speak to HR next week and I am petrified I will lose my job. If you have any legal advise or just advise I would greatly appreciate it. I can't eat, sleep and I have been physically sick with worry.

Thank you. Jenny.

[leclerc]

Re: Male colleague earns more, challenged boss and now I might lose job!

What a load of crap that your boss is talking. Confidentiality agreements are about company information and NOT about salaries. Whether or not there was a confidentiality agreement in place in regards to your male colleague as he was head hunted is debatable since the firm that the company hired to head hunt the colleague may have had one in place(If they hired one). Regardless of that, the male colleague, could then have more or less picked his salary cos they'd agree to that if they wanted him that hard.

I think that your boss has gone OTT on this matter and I think you should simply state to HR that you were querying why one colleague earnt more money than another one for the same job(considering both of you had started at the same time). The other work colleague did nothing more than say what the male colleague had told them and you confirmed it. Utter nonsense. You will not lose your job and I think you simply need to explain to HR that you were concerned that you were not earning the same money as someone else who worked with you. She might have booked you a slot to speak to HR so that they can explain the above. Personally I would not worry but IF there is more than one person in the room with you then ask that a work colleague or union rep be with you for the meeting if you are in a union.
Your contract of employment will explain disciplinary issues but nothing you have said above is disciplinary but I'm not sure that your boss is not in line for disciplinary over what she said to you about your former colleague since that is a potential breach of confidentiality.

[teaboy2]

Re: Male colleague earns more, challenged boss and now I might lose job!

Actually their is a risk she may loose her job, shes only been there 5 months, so they could get rid of her for any reason they see fit, now, notably performance since her boss's opinion on her performance changed when confronted with the pay gap issue.

Personally for her own protection i think she should put in a grievance about, the pay gap. Asserting her statutory rights under Equal Pay Act 1970 and the Equality act 2010, to not be discriminated against by not being paid equal pay, considering the fact both her and her male colleague has same or similar experience, and similar qualifications, if not more experience/qualifications on her side. And also about her boss's aggressive reaction, pointing out that if such a confidentially agreement existed, the boss herself is in breach of it for disclosing the fact they head hunted her male counter part. The fact that ACAS themselves also state the the employee may write to the employer requesting information to establish whether there is a pay difference and or what the reason for it is, also kind of confirms it is not confidential information or subject to confidentiality agreement. State your male colleagues name in the grievance as the comparator (same if issuing ET claim, which i doubt will go that far) so your pay can then be compared.

Basically they would then be wise not to take any action against the OP upon receiving the grievance, or against her male colleague for disclosing his salary. If they did dismiss the OP after shes placed her grievance, then as the grievance is regarding equal pay, a statutory right (Equal Pay Act 1970 and Equality Act 2010 since is may be paid less due to her being a female), the grievance is the OPs attempt to formally assert her rights, making any dismissal regardless of reasoning Automatic Unfair Dismissal in which the OP qualifies to take to tribunal as the 2 year qualifying period would no longer apply!

And for those here that may not agree - Well for the benefit of doubt. If the OP doesn't assert her statutory rights by way of grievance, they are leaving themselves unprotected and open to be dismissed for any reason with no way of the OP being able to take the dismissal to ET! The the issuing of a grievance and asserting her statutory rights is a MUST!

[krypton]

Re: Male colleague earns more, challenged boss and now I might lose job!

I really feel I have jeopardised my job I am in my 6 month probation period so I'm afraid she will just tell me to leave. I feel very bullied and backed into a corner. I work very hard and this whole situation is so unfair. In hindsight, I was naive to think I could just have a small chat about this issue as it now is a huge problem,

Unfortunately that is probably the reality of it. Having been there only 6 months and still within your probation period it was probably not the 'best' thing to do. In a way the person who told you about the difference told you so in confidence.

It would have been far better to have waited until your probation was up and the company confirmed they were making you permanent. That's usually a far stronger and sensible position and time to discuss something like this. At that time you could have said that you really liked the job, you were very pleased that you had completed probation successfully, looked forward to the challenges that lay ahead but you would like to consider further over remuneration levels before accepting.

You also say both of you started at the same time? It may have been his agency marketed him at a higher salary to begin with. Whilst you were happy to take the role for £28k he negotiated for £35k.

At the end of the day you did accept the position and were happy to do so based on £28k, so strictly speaking the company has done nothing wrong. You accepted the contract of employment based on £28k. It sounds like you undervalued yourself at negotiations and having discovering it afterwards felt a little disappointed in yourself.

As it now stands the discussion you have had with your boss was not the best idea and the timing not very well thought out.

Unfortunately there is a risk they may now just let you go during your probation. During your 6mths they can. You can file a grievance but I don't imagine it will get you anywhere or do you any favours whilst you are still on probation. You will immediately be labelled a 'troublemaker'. It will probably expedite their decision.

Alternatively there is a chance your boss may reflect on what you said and consider the salary difference. I would highly doubt it though. In my experience money rules and I would doubt she would offer you the same as him now. If she has told you they paid his agency more for him then it could be they only recruited you because you were only worth £28k, which of course you were happy to accept.

Ultimately, employment is a contract. They don't have to re-negotiate your contract during probation and probably won't.

From what you have said if she has got HR involved then the outlook clearly doesn't look great. I would therefore suggest not filing a grievance but trying to talk your way through this at this stage.

If you would like an idea of what to say to HR then can help you consider on what you could say.