Has anyone ever managed to get themselves a payrise?

[Little-Miss]

How? What was your "Artillery"? Is it possible!?! :?:

[Midget]

I think you have to blackmail the the HT with some photos and kneecap one of the SMT

[MkII]

Yes I got one, and my new underling also secured one this year.

 

Mine was on the cards for years, and the Head finally made it happen, after a few years of 'special payments'.

 

If you think your salary is below that of people in similar jobs in your authority, then you should be able to successfully make a re-grading claim. Councils are signed up to an agreement to pay equal wages work work of equal value. Of course it's nicest if you can persuade you Head Teacher first but most wont be forthcoming. It's their job to squeeze the most out of their respective budgets.

[localzuk]

I went from £14.5k (probationary pay) to £17.5k (I should have gone to £16k) after 6 months. This was simply due to the sweeping changes and improvements I made.

 

I am coming up to a yearly review soon, so will post if I get another... Fingers crossed! But considering the number of new things on my job list, I should get something.

[russdev]

Yes went up a grade took the handy booklet i had as part of lea pay review which listed what each grade should be doing i was on grade 7 and was doing jobs of grade 8.

 

I went to then business manager (who got on well with) explained she took it to head. Heads comment I been expecting you to do this for ages .

 

Key here is heads are like us they are better when no students or teachers around so do it in one of holidays as they say timing is everything.

 

Russell

[CyberNerd]

Yes went up a grade took the handy booklet i had as part of lea pay review which listed what each grade should be doing i was on grade 7 and was doing jobs of grade 8.

 

This is really the key - Local authorities were required by government to do an equal pay audit by April 2007 - but not all LA's have done so. The equal pay audit is designed to protect the local authority from equal pay claims. Some people win and some loose from equal pay audits, some LA's will try and use it to reduce wages and make outsoursing attractive but in general it does balance things within the authority.

 

I was lucky enough to take a job that had already been graded sensibly and I'm still going up payscales (for another year or so).

Assuming you've been declined a pay rise and you genuinely feel that you are being exploited you'll need to take things further.

Make sure you have a copy of a current job description, your pay should reflect your level responsibility, so if management are asking you to take on more and more responsibility then you may have good grounds to ask for your job to be re-graded. (you can't take on more responsibility voluntarily - get written evidence, email etc. If you have meeting then minute them and get witness statements). Read your contract. Find another member of local authority who has a broadly similar role, similar responsibility and use their JD/pay and use them as a comparator for an equal pay claim (must be member of the opposite sex or different race as you'd have to claim race/sex/disability discrimination for this to be successful). Join UNISON - their lawyers are no-win no fee so once you have the evidence of discrimination, and a couple of comparators then you'll find out if you have a case - the lawyers won't take the case unless they win. School HR people usually don't have any training, so don't expect them to be very clued up - but do expect a fight.

[broc]

I collected job descriptions (with payscales) from job adverts in my & nearby LAs, plus jobs advertised on the Sector1 jobsite & built up a 'portfolio' of better paid jobs than mine, given similar responsibilities. Then I went to see our Bursar, convinced her that I was underpaid, made it clear that sooner or later I would get fed up with just looking at the vacancies and apply for a new job. I also pointed out how expensive it would be to replace me if I left, as they would have to match the 'going rate' anyway.

 

At some point she discussed this with the Head, because a couple of months later the Head called me into his office & told me I was being regraded, and the regrading was being back-dated to the beginning of the school year (6 months). I went from scale 6 to SO2, a rise of almost £6k.

[ICT_GUY]

I got 5 extra hours per week pay that I dont have to work.

 

Its better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

[StewartKnight]

I got a £10k payrise after 1 year in my last post. A pay level I was able to maintain when I transfered to the school that I now work at.

[comedydave]

Not a payrise, but I have walked into work today to find an extention to my temporary contract (school in closedown) for this academic year.

 

Wouldn't mind but I have already worked here for one month of this academic year!

[torledo]

Yes went up a grade took the handy booklet i had as part of lea pay review which listed what each grade should be doing i was on grade 7 and was doing jobs of grade 8.

 

This is really the key - Local authorities were required by government to do an equal pay audit by April 2007 - but not all LA's have done so. The equal pay audit is designed to protect the local authority from equal pay claims. Some people win and some loose from equal pay audits, some LA's will try and use it to reduce wages and make outsoursing attractive but in general it does balance things within the authority.

 

I was lucky enough to take a job that had already been graded sensibly and I'm still going up payscales (for another year or so).

Assuming you've been declined a pay rise and you genuinely feel that you are being exploited you'll need to take things further.

Make sure you have a copy of a current job description, your pay should reflect your level responsibility, so if management are asking you to take on more and more responsibility then you may have good grounds to ask for your job to be re-graded. (you can't take on more responsibility voluntarily - get written evidence, email etc. If you have meeting then minute them and get witness statements). Read your contract. Find another member of local authority who has a broadly similar role, similar responsibility and use their JD/pay and use them as a comparator for an equal pay claim (must be member of the opposite sex or different race as you'd have to claim race/sex/disability discrimination for this to be successful). Join UNISON - their lawyers are no-win no fee so once you have the evidence of discrimination, and a couple of comparators then you'll find out if you have a case - the lawyers won't take the case unless they win. School HR people usually don't have any training, so don't expect them to be very clued up - but do expect a fight.

 

Great advice...fortunately for me i have a very reasonable line manager who i can be frank with and normally responds to my salary and training needs. I have received two pay rises since i started.

 

however i still believe i am underpaid and have heard the 'no money available' line in recent months. If you've reached a brick wall as far as your line manager/head are concerned it makes sense to go down the 'official' route gathering written confirmation and developing a strong argument. The advice regarding unions is also spot on.

 

The important thing is to be as professional as possible in your work...if you and fellow colleagues have confidence in your ability and work and you've proven that you're presence brings value to the org (again relates to your productivity) you've got a solid foundation when it comes to getting the pay rise you deserve. It's also important to develop focus on professional development plan (make sure your line manager helps you to develop this) so that you keep improving and you can change your focus to add value to your position. In fact if you're line manager isn't stressing the importance of your career/professional development then they're neglecting an important part of their duties. School network managers are there to manage and motivate people as will as dish out duties (sorry, delegate responsibility )

[dezt]

I managed to get a rise, and promotion at the same time. I asked the SBM to look at making me network manager as we didn't have one and I was doing the job of one. She agreed and took it straight to the governors and hey presto I got a letter confirming the promotion and pay rise.

[steveg]

Make sure you have a list of all the new responsibilities you now have, and any "extras" you have done for them. Also try and demostrate what you could be earning elsewhere.

 

I work in a primary school, and since starting here 4 years ago the network has grown to 5 times the size, and I now have 2 part time technicains working under me. Each year I have explained what extra responsibilities I have taken on, and have always been given a rise. This year I was moved up an entire grade in 2 months - I gained 2 points as part of my review, and a further 2 points when I mentioned I had been offered another job!

 

Just present your case to the head, and back it up with details of everything you do, and how this has changed. They will be able to find the money from somewhere if they need to.

[webman]

In 2003 I started term-time on £8,894. In 2005 I was then re-graded to £11,887 and now upgraded to full-time on £15,096. It's still not enough for the responsibilities I have been doing but fingers-crossed something's getting done about that

 

These have been achieved through standard pay review letters listing my additional responsibilities since the last time.

[Halfmad]

I want from £12,000 in 2000 to £23,000 in 2004 by using our councils accelerated progression scheme (oddly enough they've cancelled it). I had to prove I was worth the money essentially, writing a report each year that was then assessed by my boss and a group of managers.

[Pottsey]

I got one during my transition to full time. When they offered my fulltime I wasn’t sure so they bumped the wage up. Not a lot but enough to make it realise they appreciated what I do and wanted me here.

[Little-Miss]

My problem is when my job description was written it was written thoroughly!

 

I really dont think i've gained any more responsibility...just my work load almost doubled!!

 

All i've got is that the staff like me lol!

 

So from reading all your posts my plan is to find a similar role which is being paid more and try to think of any extra responsibilites i do have!!

 

I'm one point off reaching the top of my scale..if they wanna keep me they'll have to sort my pay out. A couple more grand and i'll be quite happy for a few years i imagine...

[john]

In 2003 I started term-time on £8,894. In 2005 I was then re-graded to £11,887 and now upgraded to full-time on £15,096. It's still not enough for the responsibilities I have been doing but fingers-crossed something's getting done about that

 

These have been achieved through standard pay review letters listing my additional responsibilities since the last time.

 

Your lucky there with that nice new salary mate, wish I was that lucky.

[Guest monkeyx]

Unforunately in my past experience, the best way of getting a decent payrise is to move to a new job. Where you will be getting paid for your current skill level. It is possible to do this in post, but is difficult in the private sector and even more difficult in the public sector.

 

Hope you manage to prove me wrong though.

 

Monkeyx

[Dos_Box]

The irony is that (and this happened to me) when you get told that 'We can't pay you any more than your current level'. You then leave to find that your replacement is on several thousand more than you were, and works term time only!

[localzuk]

I just got another one And a bonus. Well chuffed. I'm about £18k or so now

[nebapneb]

I collected job descriptions (with payscales) from job adverts in my & nearby LAs, plus jobs advertised on the Sector1 jobsite & built up a 'portfolio' of better paid jobs than mine, given similar responsibilities. Then I went to see our Bursar, convinced her that I was underpaid, made it clear that sooner or later I would get fed up with just looking at the vacancies and apply for a new job. I also pointed out how expensive it would be to replace me if I left, as they would have to match the 'going rate' anyway.

 

At some point she discussed this with the Head, because a couple of months later the Head called me into his office & told me I was being regraded, and the regrading was being back-dated to the beginning of the school year (6 months). I went from scale 6 to SO2, a rise of almost £6k.

 

i don't suppose you'd be willing to pass that research on?

 

i was taken on at £16k with the promise of mcse & ccna training

and now i'm due to complete probation they've me told that the training pots empty, but they can send me on an RM course - woohoo!

 

have booked myself on the 70-270 exam anyway

s'pose it'll mean more to me if i have to pay for it myself?

 

neb

[limbo]

There are basically three ways of going about it:-

 

1) Show an increased level or responsibility to what your post was originally. More work does not mean more responsiblity, but a section of the day to day that you now run without any line management - the school website is often a good example if they did not have one when you started but now you are responsible for running one.

 

2) Deliver a list of jobs that are paid more than you but have a similar job description

 

3) Leave and work somewhere else that will pay you. You can threaten to do this one but you have to be prepared to carry it out should the threat not work - personally I would not recommend it as it can backfire very badly.

 

Personally I have been able to get a number of payrises since I started, mainly because of the extra responsibilities I have now got, but also partly because of other job offers that have come my way. These other offers have been useful because they just force the discussion and put a time limit on when decisions about pay rises have to be made. But again, I have never told SMT that I am considering any job unless I am genuinely doing so - the relationship has to be a two way thing.

[john]

i don't suppose you'd be willing to pass that research on?

 

i was taken on at £16k with the promise of mcse & ccna training

and now i'm due to complete probation they've me told that the training pots empty, but they can send me on an RM course - woohoo!

 

have booked myself on the 70-270 exam anyway

s'pose it'll mean more to me if i have to pay for it myself?

 

neb

Hmmm someone else who found that out.

[torledo]

The irony is that (and this happened to me) when you get told that 'We can't pay you any more than your current level'. You then leave to find that your replacement is on several thousand more than you were, and works term time only!

 

too true.

 

But i think the reverse will be true when I eventually move on from my current position, my bosses will likely envisage a very different role for my replacement and he or she will be on a considerably lower salary (they'll be lucky if they start on 3/4 of my current salary).