any one study employment law? HELP!?

Question

Ive worked for the same company for 15 months, they have recently taken on alot of new staff. I have just found out that some of them are getting much bigger saleries than me, for doing exactly the same job as me! Im very annoyed, are they allowed to do this?

I had more experience in the job than the new people do, they have come from a completly different field of work. Also my work is target driven so i know if i ask for a pay rise they will just set me impossible targets to get the rise! It just doesnt seem right that they can do this.

I live in the uk.

the new starters are women.

Answer 1

i study law in Britain.

firstly if you are in America you need 29 U.S.C. § 206 - it ensures that all employees are entitled to equal pay for equal work, but so far as i know it has to be between a man an a woman.

in the EU (including the UK) its article 141, but again between a man and a woman, you must lodge a tribunal application, go and see a solicitor about the specific procedures, or there may be help on-line-try

http://www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk/

Article 141 says:

1. Each Member State shall ensure that the principle of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value is applied.

2. For the purpose of this Article, 'pay means the ordinary basic or minimum wage or salary and any other consideration, whether in cash or in kind, which the worker receives directly or indirectly, in respect of his employment, from his employer.

Equal pay without discrimination based on sex means:

(a) that pay for the same work at piece rates shall be calculated on the basis of the same unit of measurement;

(b) that pay for work at time rates shall be the same for the same job.

3. The Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251, and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee, shall adopt measures to ensure the application of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation, including the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value.

4. With a view to ensuring full equality in practise between men and women in working life, the principle of equal treatment shall not prevent any Member State from maintaining or adopting measures providing for specific advantages in order to make it easier for the under-represented sex to pursue a vocational activity or to prevent or compensate for disadvantages in professional careers.

in the UK there is the equal pay act 1970, the scope is basically the same as the EU, and the EU one has amended it.

unless you can find an opposite gender employee from the 'new batch' to compare with and use as an example to validate your claim (nothing will happen to them, they would just be an example!), so far as i know there is no law against discriminating between same gender people, although case law is starting to lean that way.

there are basically the same laws as those above if you are black, homosexual, disabled, you feel it could be down to appearance or any other minority group (email and i can give you these exact laws if you want them). however there may be actions under human rights act article 14 freedom from discrimination. it would be something to see a solicitor about as there is not enough room for me to go into too much detail here!

Answer 2

That depends entirely on your employment status with your employer. If you are an at-will employee, as most of us are, then unfortunately your employer can do just about whatever they want, as long as they violate no anti-discrimination laws in your state. The best you can do is hope to negotiate with your employer. Given your experience, they will probably value your service more than the new employee, or you may at least find out some of the reasoning behind the pay difference. If you are an employee under contract, you are stuck at your current pay level and must remain there until you re-negotiate. If you are a union employee, you have the most options. There should be provisions in the general employment contract giving at least guidelines for pay level that should be followed. Even if the new employee's pay falls within acceptable levels, you could still file a grievance for higher pay for yourself.
So in short, your employer is probably doing nothing wrong per se. If you are a union employee, you have some options. If you are not in a union, you can at best make an argument to your employer that, given the pay level that they value the new employee, you feel that with your level experience and training, your time is worth at least as much, probably more than the new employee.
All of the above is of course assuming there is no violation of any discrimination law. If you feel you are being treated differently or unfairly based on your ethnicity, race, gender, religion, or physical handicap, then your employer is most likely violating the law. In that case, you can sue for higher pay, or more specifically, the damages that you have received from being treated differently (including differences in pay and emotional distress).
If there has been no illegal discrimination, then I'm afraid the short answer is that your employer is not violating any law. If your place of business has an employee handbook, I would check it to see if there is any mention about pay levels. Even if you are not under contract, a lawyer could are the handbook is an implied contract, and sue for breach under that.
I hope the above gives you a starting point

Answer 3

Usually not, the reason this has happened is becuase the company that you may be working for may increase the salaries to make it more competitive to entice people to join their firm, and so forth to make it more lucrative.


Address the issues with your manager informally and express this in a pleasant manner to them the company you work for has every right to do this, as they have the rights, all you really can do as your right is vocalise your annoyance at this happening, as you could lose your job if you decided to take a vigilante approach towards the management, best method of approach is to address the relevant manners in a nice pleasant way to discuss this with them and express why you aren't happy, at this happening, as you can only vocalise your concerns as a right you can't demand anything.


The firm you may work for might have a group or one of those work groups you can try and express how unjust this may seem but they do have a right to increase the salaries but also as your right you can express and hope for the best...

Answer 4

Yah, they can do what they want. It is up to you what you are going to do about it.
You must know that talking salaries is looked down upon, but
not really forbidden unless you are in a management position.

Basically, I would suggest doing some research to see what the going salary is for your job & then go to your supervisor and
ask for a raise.

Also, do these people have more experience than you??
Or do they have schooling that you dont have??
Alot of times this will make a difference.

Answer 5

I take it that when you joined the company, you agreed a salary, it may be that others joining later, asked for and got, a bigger salary. It all comes down to "local agreement" rules.

Answer 6

You have absolutely ZERO remedies available to you unless you think you have been disciminated against based on sex, age (over 40), race, color, creed, religion.

Generally, employers can pay people whatever they want to, above the minimum wage.