Salary Review Question

DH's performance review and salary review are coming up and we want him to get a raise (of course hehe) but..

Where he works, head office is based in auckland and in the palmy branch theres an account manager, admin person and then the techs. DH is team leader and does a bit of account management.

Their group was bought out of massey by the company he now works for a year ago. They all discussed the package being offered to them back then so most of them know what each others salaries etc are.

The most senior engineer (who is under DH) is on the same salary as DH. He doesn't really have too much responsibility, he leads some projects and the younger guys ask him for help. Whereas DH has to run the whole team, goes in when someone screws up, makes all the big decisions etc as you would expect a team leader to do. On top of that he does account management which none of the other guys beneath him do.

Both DH and I think that he should be on more than the guy that is on the same pay as him.

I think he should mention this in his salary review meeting but DH isn't sure if he should mention the fact that he knows what the other guys is on even though they found out before they had signed their contracts. I don't see the harm in it. I think it would help strengthen his case for a rise. On top of that he did just win an award for his performance so he's got that to use as well.

What do you think? Should he use the arguement that he has far more responsibility etc than the other guy so should be paid more than him? or nah?

Hrmmm... I don't know if I'd compare it to the other guy specifically but maybe be a bit more subtle and say that his pay should reflect the level of responsibility that he currently has in line with the rest of the employees.

And definitely push for it

Go Richard!!

I wouldn't personally. Management don't normally like their staff to know how much each other is on even if it did happen before they signed the contracts, it just seems unprofessional. If I was him I would just highlight all the things you have just mentioned and use those as the basis for expecting a rise.
Also he has that knowledge that he is being paid the same as the other guy so that will allow him to be bolder with what he is asking for as he knows it is justified but he doesen't need to outright tell management that he knows. He can just say things like he believes his salary should be significantly higher than those beneath him because of the extra duties, which states what he wants without revealing what he knows.

I hope that makes sense, I just think it would be unprofessional for someone to say such and such is getting paid this so I want more.

I agree with cuppatea - your DH should definitely go for more $$ but use the other reasons you mentioned rather than outright saying he knows what someone else is being paid. I know a lot of companies specifically say their staff aren't allowed to discuss their salary package with other staff and even if he found out about the other guy's salary before he signed his current contract his boss might not like it.

Better to keep that knowledge to himself (but, as cuppatea and Nikki say keep it in the back of his mind as a starting point to what he's prepared to accept.

And good luck with the payrise!!

I agree he should keep that bit of information to himself - but it certainly gives him more confidence in negotiating a better package. When you say he does some account management is he gaining new business or maintaining current accounts? I would be highlighting how much value he adds to the company, eg; any examples of new business, staff retention, customer satisfaction, KPI targets achieved.
Does he have regular performance reviews that he can reflect on? Evidence based data is always hard to refute (his award for performance would be a good example to use).
Does he know how his salary stacks up against the industry average for his type of role?
Good luck!

I would hold the other guy's salary as a card to play if need be, but I think outlining how much extra he does on top of the next senior team member is the way to go.

Good luck!

I also dont think he should mention that the other guys gets same as him.....most managers dont like that kinda comments.

I think he should point out all the above and see what the management come back with...they might surprise you guys! If not then other arguments can be used.

If your DH does not get a pay rise he was expecting then tell him to talk to management and say :look I was expecting $$$ money and you are giving me $$...what do I have to do to get $$$. Sit and give a time line as too when to achieve this by.

I have had a $10K rise since been here (10 months). My last one I told my boss I wasnt happy with all the responsibility and crap I had to deal with and I was expecting $$$, he said oh wel its close....I said yes but I have to wait a whole year to get it?? Not happy!! He said oh no...we will review in 3 months. I have two more months to go before I get it reviewed!!

So its always good to be straight forward! mind you...you cant do that with all bosses. So tell your DH to evaluate what he can say to his boss and go from there!

Good luck either way!

He's read most of the responses and I think he's figured out what he is going to do so thanks!

Roksana, I'll show DH your comments when he comes home from lunch. I think he may well like that approach, and from what he's said about his boss he may well be able to take a similar approach