Hi all,
Just looking for a bit of advice on an issue that i have the pleasure of being caught up in.
I have currently been working for a company for nearly 2 years (6month rolling contracts) as a Ltd contractor. Now its nearly time to come up for my contact extension and i have already been told that i have the contract if i want it, but the issue is i want to renegotiate.
I initially took the job and settled on my current fee (£13.50p/h) as i was told that this was what my colleague was on (also in the same job role) and that pay rises would usually happen every 6months and up to 3% of current earnings. I asked if i could see any information that would prove that i was on the same as a colleague, but they couldnt due to it being confidential. Low and behold due to the current climate, the pay rises didnt happen. In the mean time i have found out, that my colleague who is doing the same job is actually on a higher rate than myself (£19p/h). I queried this about 4months ago and i was told that there was much i could do as i was mid way through my contract and that it would have to be discussed closer to my contract extension. So ive started chasing this up recently saying that i would like to be put on the same rate, as i am the more qualified out of us 2 and i literally got pushed out of the office with the excuse 'payfreeze, sorry bye'. Now i have gone to my manager about this, and he agrees that i should be on more. I have also gone to the companies ethics officer and he has told me that he believes that this isnt right. So i decided to take this further....
My agency (shall refer to as Agency) hired me for the role and the company i actually provide services for (shall refer to as employer). I submit timesheets to my employer and then invoice my agency. Now this is where it gets a bit hazey. I spoke to my agency and asked if there was any way around this payfreeze and i was told no, due to it being a company directive. So i landed up speaking to my manager and he said he would get the job role benchmarked by the agency to help the case. The benchmarking has come back and i have been told that i am not allowed to know the outcome of this benchmark, and that my pay will still be the same (my employer didnt even look at it).
Now my query is, what can i do?
My initial contract was negotiated on the basis that i was told i wouldnt get any more due to the fact that this is what my colleague gets paid on the same role, so i agreed and signed the contract (landed up being false). Is there any way i can quote some pay equality law that would allow me to get this pushed through so i can bring myself up to the level that my colleague is on? Also, if this was a woman who was getting paid less than a colleague, after being told that they were on equal pay, would they have a case? I know a few of you would say its not worth it due to it being a couple £ extra an hour, but its a large difference if you look at it as a percentage.
Any time i try to talk to my agency about this, they refer me to my employer say that this is in their remit, yet when i speak to my employer they inform me that i am not allowed to speak to them regarding pay or contracts etc and i would have to speak to my agency.
I know as a contractor i dont have as many rights as a permie, but something doesnt seem right about this. The whole system seems to be setup in such a way that i seem to be yelling into a dark hole, and nothing happens.
Let us know if you require any more info to be able to guide be more effectively. And thanks for any advice given
(wasnt sure if this should go in contracts, or legal)
Just looking for a bit of advice on an issue that i have the pleasure of being caught up in.
I have currently been working for a company for nearly 2 years (6month rolling contracts) as a Ltd contractor. Now its nearly time to come up for my contact extension and i have already been told that i have the contract if i want it, but the issue is i want to renegotiate.
I initially took the job and settled on my current fee (£13.50p/h) as i was told that this was what my colleague was on (also in the same job role) and that pay rises would usually happen every 6months and up to 3% of current earnings. I asked if i could see any information that would prove that i was on the same as a colleague, but they couldnt due to it being confidential. Low and behold due to the current climate, the pay rises didnt happen. In the mean time i have found out, that my colleague who is doing the same job is actually on a higher rate than myself (£19p/h). I queried this about 4months ago and i was told that there was much i could do as i was mid way through my contract and that it would have to be discussed closer to my contract extension. So ive started chasing this up recently saying that i would like to be put on the same rate, as i am the more qualified out of us 2 and i literally got pushed out of the office with the excuse 'payfreeze, sorry bye'. Now i have gone to my manager about this, and he agrees that i should be on more. I have also gone to the companies ethics officer and he has told me that he believes that this isnt right. So i decided to take this further....
My agency (shall refer to as Agency) hired me for the role and the company i actually provide services for (shall refer to as employer). I submit timesheets to my employer and then invoice my agency. Now this is where it gets a bit hazey. I spoke to my agency and asked if there was any way around this payfreeze and i was told no, due to it being a company directive. So i landed up speaking to my manager and he said he would get the job role benchmarked by the agency to help the case. The benchmarking has come back and i have been told that i am not allowed to know the outcome of this benchmark, and that my pay will still be the same (my employer didnt even look at it).
Now my query is, what can i do?
My initial contract was negotiated on the basis that i was told i wouldnt get any more due to the fact that this is what my colleague gets paid on the same role, so i agreed and signed the contract (landed up being false). Is there any way i can quote some pay equality law that would allow me to get this pushed through so i can bring myself up to the level that my colleague is on? Also, if this was a woman who was getting paid less than a colleague, after being told that they were on equal pay, would they have a case? I know a few of you would say its not worth it due to it being a couple £ extra an hour, but its a large difference if you look at it as a percentage.
Any time i try to talk to my agency about this, they refer me to my employer say that this is in their remit, yet when i speak to my employer they inform me that i am not allowed to speak to them regarding pay or contracts etc and i would have to speak to my agency.
I know as a contractor i dont have as many rights as a permie, but something doesnt seem right about this. The whole system seems to be setup in such a way that i seem to be yelling into a dark hole, and nothing happens.
Let us know if you require any more info to be able to guide be more effectively. And thanks for any advice given
(wasnt sure if this should go in contracts, or legal)
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