My bank pays everyone different
I'm at a lower tier bank in London that is less structured than most places. One of the disadvantages (and also an advantage) of not being structured is that they pay everyone different base salaries and bonuses. From what I can tell it's depending on 3 factors:
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Group: How strong your team is overall / how strong of an MD you have, if you work under a rainmaker they'll pay you well
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Politics: how well you're liked/praised upon by seniors - this doesn't necessarily mean how good you are it's more politics of having a good relationship and being liked i.e. a girl that gets paid the highest is actually very average (I often have to help her and fix her mistakes with work) but she has an incredible relationship with the seniors (get's invited round MDs houses for BBQs, invited to sporting events like football games and always gets taken out to bars on Fridays etc..) she's quite good looking so that's probs why to put it bluntly but she's also very political so knows how to 'play the game'.
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Performance: of course if you're shit you ofc won't get paid well
Whilst it's very unethical and most likely illegal? to pay people at the same level different base salaries the bank has been doing this for years and still does this. But ofc we're not meant to know. The bank doesn't want any employees knowing.. they make it clear discussing salaries with colleagues is strictly prohibited but... ofc all of us do it anyway.
I've now been told I'm being assessed for the associate promotion and if I get the promotion I want to do everything I can to be given the higher salary (which is market standard). From speaking with associates at my bank you either start on £75k, £80k or £90k (but no one is meant to know). Only a couple people got given £90k and most got put on £75k when promoted.
If I get the lower salary offer how should I approach this? I'm not allowed to know everyone gets different pay.
For example, I'm paid a base salary in the middle of others at the same analyst level as me (that joined on the same graduate scheme as me). I'm an analyst 3 and my salary is £55k whilst there are some other Analyst 3s on £60k and others are on between £50-55k. When I got my analyst 3 bump to £55k I said I know others got put on £60k and I immediately got told off by my manager who said I shouldn't know what others get paid and that it's a breach of company policy and not to discuss pay with colleagues ever again and kept my pay at £55k.
If I get the promotion how could I counter the £75k or £80k associate offer to receive the £90k? Providing I don't get given the £90k in the first place. I don't have the best relationship with seniors like the girl mentioned above but I am highly ranked for my performance and in a decent team. Should I just do what I did last time and mention about knowing others got £90k and take the risk of getting in trouble again?
I also feel this is illegal for the bank to be doing this but I'm not sure.
Bump
Just leave and find a bette opportunity. it’s a shitty practice that will only get worse over time.
Easier said than done, especially in this environment
Ok then buckle up and stop bitching about a few grand.
The fuck are you expecting people to tell you? You’re getting screwed, that’s not going to change.
Yeah it is illegal to stop employees in the U.K. from discussing pay, it’s a right employees have to stop exactly this situation.
Not sure what the repercussions will be career-wise if you escalate the issue but yeah it’s literally illegal.
if you want to play it safe I would approach a lower offer by discussing other firms pay scale that you can find that are in similar markets as your firm if they are being ethical. this way you can compose a compelling argument while not offending your higher ups.
career-wise I don’t think it would be prudent to discuss an unethical practice within your firm during an evaluation. you know what your associates make but play dumb and use market pay as leverage if you get 75k or less
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