Salary Banding

[StellaSteve]

Hi Guys, My employer has over the past 8 months introduced salary banding into our organistaion, with the aim of ensuring that my salary is benchmarked inline with the current market, we also have an annual pay review at the end of february and the pay increase i get is related to my performance review and where i am in the salary banding (whether i am above or below the average for our sector makes a difference to the size of my increase). I have today requested from my HR department to see what my upper and lower limits are of my salary banding are and where my salary sits inside these limits. This has been refused with HR saying and i quote "Because it is for HR use only to ensure that employees salaries are benchmarked in line with the market"My question is can they refuse to disclose and withhold this information about me as i have requested it?I have only requested the information for myself and not for anyone else.Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

[Gbarbm]

Hi

So is there a minima/maxima for each pay grade?

[StellaSteve]

Yes, each pay grade has a minima and maxima and it is those that i am trying to find out for my pay grade/banding group.

[Bigredbus]

Hi,

 

Out of curiosity, did you try to research the market to benchmark your own salary?

 

It is seems a bit odd that such elements be kept ''secret'' as one would assume that this information would be released to new applicants...

[Gbarbm]

I agree BigRed; why keep it secret!?

Usually these sort of details are contained in the staff handbook or personnel manual.

Do you have a union rep/shop steward who could obtain or indeed has access to these details.

There must be something somewhere because what information would they be able to give new applicants

[Bigredbus]

I believe there are accessible information on the web...

 

... but I don't want to postulate on their reason(s) to hide such information...

[StellaSteve]

Thanks for all the replies guys,Yeah i tried to benchmark my own salary using the payscale website, i tried to match as accurately as i could my job description and duties, when all this was completed it came back as the average salary for my role was £4000 more a year than i am currently on, this i think is the reason why they are reluctant to release this information.I have searched the company handbook and personnel manual and there is no such information in there and as for new applicants my understanding is that they dont disclose the minima and maxima to them, they are simply told they are in "This pay grade".We dont have a union here and i have been told only HR has access to this information,Im just wondering have they told me they cant give it to me hoping id say "OK" and go away quietly, or wether or not they can actually refuse to give me this information if i pursue it further.Thanks guys

[Bigredbus]

I doubt very much that new successful applicants are only told their band grade and no information about minima/maxima or average salary in the grade.

 

If I extrapolate, I would say that their grading is probably fluctuating and maybe not a true reflection of the market. To some extent I understand their reason, or reasons, as they want to retain the best of their workforce without creating an ambiguous atmosphere within which employees would start questioning their salary in comparison with the national market.

[StellaSteve]

Yeah i understand them possibly not wanting to release the information if it does indeed say my current salary is below the market average, but i would still like to find out. if i am below the average i can then discuss this with my direct manager at a later date but also if i am at the top end of the scale then any pay increases will be minimal.

[Bigredbus]

One option would be to discuss your pay increase with your manager and re-align it on the national average.

[Sidewinder]

Don't take too much notice of what current market rates suggest you should be paid. Checking mine shows that I am probably worth an extra £15,000 a year!

 

Bigredbus explains it better than I possibly could above, but basically a company does not have to publicise their salary scales, nor are you entitled to know within which bands they set them. To do otherwise would create the inevitable situation of comparing salaries between staff and would cause suspicion and resentment - and, increasingly the accusation of unfair treatment or sex, age, race discrimination etc.

 

One tends to have to live with what one is paid up to the point where you really feel that you are being underpaid and then negotiate an increase or leave!