Advice Needed

Hi girls, I'm in a bit of a tricky situation at the moment regarding work/money and I'd really appreciate any advice you can give me on this. Sorry if it's a bit long but I want to get it all in! I've been in my current job for almost 2 years, and in our dept I've been here the longest. In July we took on another full time member of staff after me pestering my boss for months to take someone on. In September I approched my boss about Education Allowance and he agreed to pay half the fees for a college course that I wanted to start and contributed 850.00, which at the time I was delighted with and really thankful. Not longer after this, I found out that my new colleague had been put on a higher salary than me, 2k more. I was really upset. Now to be fair he is more experienced than me, and he has also completed the college course that I have just started. However, he is doing the exact same job and I have been here longer. When I say he is more experienced, I only mean by about a year - he hasn't worked in any more 'senior' roles, just more well known companies that would look impressive on a CV. Our contracts state that our pay would be reviewed annually and this didn't happen last year, so I asked my boss for a meeting. We discussed my pay but he said I wouldn't be eligible for a review until this year and even then it would only be the standard 3%. I made it clear to him that I knew my colleage was earning more than me, he said that is between him and my colleague and also the college fees that he paid to me should be counted as a pay rise. He stated that there wasn't a cent more in the yearly budget to allocate to me, and this is why he could only stretch to half my college fees. Even though I didn't get the result I wanted I came away feeling that there was nothing more I could do, my colleague is more educated and experienced and if I count the 850 as a payrise then they weren't earning a great deal more than I am. Anyway, I recently found out that my colleague has now approcahed our boss for educational assistance. My boss granted it to him and gave him 550e towards his course, even though it has nothing to do with the job and he has only been here for 6 months. The terms of our company's educational assistance state yo must be employed here for 12 months before you're eligible. So after telling me that there wasn't a penny left in the budget, he suddenly found 550 to give to my colleague? I'm feeling so down about this and just don't know what to do. As petrol is now at 1.60 a litre, I am living off my credit card each month to get by. I'm falling further and further into debt each month and I actually considered phoning in sick this morning, to save petrol. I didn't in the end, but this is how bad money is for me at the moment. I'm curerntly arranging viewings on houses a bit nearer to where I work to save petrol and cut our the daily tolls I pay, but this will obviously take time to sort out. However much I save on petrol though, I still think I'm being treated completely unfairly at work and just don;t know what to do. There's only 6 of us here and my boss is the only boss. There's no HR dept, no one higher than him and I just feel like crying with the frustration of it all. An added insult is that my colleague spent the 550 he got from our boss on our holiday, booked it over the weekend and is now moaning to me today that he's got no money. Another point to add is that my colleague is not very good at his job. I covered his workload for him when he had a few days off recently, and found many errors and just poor work in general. My boss is aware that he has been working below standard since he joined the company as it has been pointed out by myself and other colleagus, however he hasn't done anything about it. What can I do? What would you do? I really need some help with this as I can't leave as there's no other jobs to go to but I'm really struggling to be here everyday knowing that I'm being paid less that someone in the same role who's work is not up to scratch. Thanks for reading, I know it's long! And all replies will be appreicated

Ok so firstly i do sympathise with your situation... but unfortunately there is very little you can do... if your colleague has more education and has more experience then it’s a fact of life that he will get paid more... it’s the same in any work place I’m afraid... it’s not really relevant that you both are doing the same job... sorry Also every employee contract is different so.. i.e. it’s an agreement between the company and the individual employee etc... so sometimes there are different entitlements for different employees etc... where i work they pay for my college fees but no one else... and a number of people are doing the same course as me, and have requested assistance but they have refused... whereas i agreed it with the prior to me accepting my job... etc... so it’s not a blanket agreement for all employees... it’s done on a private basis... With regard to the €850 for education fees they paid on your behalf... that infact is worth double to you... as you didn’t earn it through wages and pay PAYE etc... so in reality the fees are worth €1,700 in gross wages to you.... I know it’s upsetting but Unfortuanlty there’s nothing that can be done about it I’m afraid. With regard to his poor work level now this is where you can bring up your concern... it’s not fair you picking up the slack and fixing errors etc... this is where i would make a big deal .. IMO ... i would look for another job... get offered another job... then tell you boss your leaving for more money and more than likely he will match it (this is what i did and it worked)... Best of luck

Thanks Sara, I was worried this was the response I would get, I was hoping someone would wave a magic wand for me! I've been looking for another job but there's nothing around. I just find it disgusting that he can be paid more than me for the exact same job, our roles are no different. I thought there were laws regarding equal pay for equal work? It's so degrading to know he's being paid more, I really feel like sitting in a corner and having a good cry even though it won't solve my problem!

I have to say I agree with Sara. Re the same pay for the same job - he has a course that you don't so is being paid something for that. Perhaps when you reach the same level of qualification you'll negotiate an increase? I would not mention the pay disparity again. Harsh as it may sound, its none of your business what any colleague earns and it's not an effective negotiation tactic. It's just irritating for your boss - and that's not what you're trying to achieve! You can definitely raise to him the deficits in your colleagues work, as they affect you. This may help him compare you both, with you coming out favourably!