Overworked and Underpaid - advice?

[snrckrd]

Hi,


So just over 3 years ago I started an unemployment scheme which involved working 30 hours per week, with half of my wage paid by the funder, half by my employer, for 6 months. Previous to starting this scheme, I had volunteered for 6 months - it's a charity.


Upon finishing the scheme I was taken on as a fully-fledged employee of this company. During the first 5 months of the scheme, I was what could be described as a general assistant, minor cleaning etc. In the final month, the company's bookkeeper left with one month's notice, and I was thrown in to this job. I should add I had no experience whatsoever in this field. I'm good with numbers I guess.


This is what I have been doing ever since, and I should say that I have greatly improved the company's financial processes, the security, and auditing readiness. In fact, I saved approx. £2000 on the auditing fee as it took much less time. The previous bookkeeper essentially wrote checks. My total is "Finance Officer".


I do financial projections and modelling, I prepare financial summaries for the board of directors, I manage multiple bank accounts (as opposed to the original single account), in a £500K per year organisation. My work pile and responsibility is increasing all the time - with the expectations one would expect from an accountant.


However - I am paid minimum wage, with no prospect of a raise. If I were to leave, the place would be screwed as far as financial management is concerned - and they could never find anyone to do what I do for the pay I get.


It's a small organisation of 6 staff, so there are no unions or anything like that. We're all friends as such. Apart from the boss, who is a joyless moron.


Anyway, advice would be greatly appreciated on how to approach this, and whether I should demand more money (and more hours!)


Thanks!

[teaboy2]

Re: Overworked and Underpaid - advice?

MY advice would be to speak informally to the boss or your manager about this, advising them your basically acting as a company accountant with no qualifications in this field (though it you would like to take on said qualifications, tell them you'd be willing to do so if they paid towards the course fees under a training agreement). Advise them you should not be on minimum wage for the work you do and remind them of how much money you have saved them as a result of your work, and that you are consider looking for employment elsewhere if you wages do not increase to reflect the job your doing, and advise them you know they can afford to increase your wages since your the one that is in charge of the books.

Also regarding training agreement - Advise them that by gaining a qualification then you would learn even more about accountancy and they would benefit financially in return for supporting you by paying the course fees. And the benefits they would gain would far expect the cost of your increased wages, plus it would save them from having to pay a 3rd party accountant, or face financial risk of your leaving the organisation and them employing another member of staff to act as book keeper who isn't so well versed in book keeping and may well screw up costing the company a lot of money.

See how they respond then get back to us, though keep it polite and friendly!