NWR: I need salary advice

Johnny&Maur Posted: Oct 28, 2005 08:24 AM

NWR: I need salary advice

Morning ladies!

I need some advice before I confront my soon to be boss.

I am starting work at a great catering company in VA doing marketing. If i were to be a full time employee (40 hrs) my salary would be about 40K. But since i am going to school at night, they asked me to work a 30-35 hr week making me PT. Which is great..what i wanted. That brings my pay to hourly, not salaried.

BUT...they said they would pay $15.50/hr if I'm hourly. Shouldnt my hourly pay be prorated from what I'd make at 40k?

Can anyone shed some light on this?? I kind of accepted, but didn't sign paperwork. I should have questioned more, and know I need to speak up. I don't think $15.50 is very good for a busy marketing/personal assistant position.

Any advice on how to approach this will be appreciated. Sidenote..they said they interviewed 15 people before picking me...so shouldn't they compensate accordingly??

riniko Posted: Oct 28, 2005 08:31 AM

Re: NWR: I need salary advice

52 weeks at 40 hours per week = 2080 hrs per year

$40,000/2080 = $19.23 per hour

That is a purely financial calculation. It does not figure in the potential loss of benefits extended to FT employees that you may lose as a PT employee.

eta: this is assuming you merely work 40 hours per week as a FT employee. $15.50 per hour translates into a 50 hour workweek had you been FT.

Johnny&Maur Posted: Oct 28, 2005 08:38 AM

Re: NWR: I need salary advice

thanks for that response!

So..i should definitely ask for the hourly rate that would put me at 40k if i were working FT right? $15.50 is being taken advantage of? Maybe i sound naive but i wasn't sure of their rationale..

AllyJJ Posted: Oct 28, 2005 08:43 AM

Re: NWR: I need salary advice

Was there a benifit package included with the full time position, such as vacation time, medical, 401K that you are loosing in lieu of taking the part time position?

Also, for the salaried position was it a strict 40 hours, or a more typical 40+

As an employer these are the things I calculate when making a part time vs full time offer.

Allyson

ChrissynRicky Posted: Oct 28, 2005 08:43 AM

Re: NWR: I need salary advice

Would your responsibilities be different if you were FT? Maybe they will give you less responsibility at a PT allocation, in turn lowering the salary.

Johnny&Maur Posted: Oct 28, 2005 08:47 AM

Re: NWR: I need salary advice

thanks for the responses...

well...my responsibilities are exactly the same. And the typical FT work week there is 45 hours (he said everyone works between 40-50).

but...a FT employee gets paid OT of course. I am not taking their benefits b/c I'm on my husbands...they are going over every detail on monday, i start on tuesday...i just didn't think the hourly rate was great considering that for a few more hours/week i would be making a lot more $$.

riniko Posted: Oct 28, 2005 09:14 AM

Re: NWR: I need salary advice

Assuming that a FT employees work 45-50 hours per week....

The hourly wage is between $15.50 (assuming 50 hrs per week) and $17.09 (assuming 45 hours per week) per hour.

LM903 Posted: Oct 28, 2005 09:20 AM

Re: NWR: I need salary advice

I think that if you feel as if you are working just as hard as a FT person (doing the same tasks, putting in the same effort) you are more than worthy of receiving an hourly pay that is comparable to a 40k salary.

My advice is to create a list of accomplishments and things that you have done since you've come on as an employee. Use this as a bargaining tool to show that you are very much worth making $20 or so per hour.

In the scheme of things, you are only asking for a few more bucks an hour - they really should consider it!

Good luck

ETA: You aren't getting benefits - so they are saving a ton on you anyway .... YOU DESERVE IT!!!!

ML110 Posted: Oct 28, 2005 09:21 AM

Re: NWR: I need salary advice

i think they should pay you a little more per hour, just because you aren't taking their benfits...
but, from the calculations somebody else posted, the hourly rate if you were full time would be 19.23- so its not even a $5 difference from what they offered you... so i think what they offered you for part time is fair.... but i would ask them for more, just because you're not taking the benefits

ChrissynRicky Posted: Oct 28, 2005 09:35 AM

Re: NWR: I need salary advice

Posted by Johnny&Maur

thanks for the responses...

well...my responsibilities are exactly the same. And the typical FT work week there is 45 hours (he said everyone works between 40-50).

but...a FT employee gets paid OT of course. I am not taking their benefits b/c I'm on my husbands...they are going over every detail on monday, i start on tuesday...i just didn't think the hourly rate was great considering that for a few more hours/week i would be making a lot more $$.

After taxes, it evens out, especially since you won't have benefits to pay for.

Blu-ize Posted: Oct 28, 2005 09:49 AM

Re: NWR: I need salary advice

One point: as a part timer you are entitled to OT after 40 hrs like everyone else.

You should be paid on a pro-rated basis. The benefits you are choosing not to take-that's your decision, however some employers will give you $$ back for that (not all)

Please speak up for yourself at your meeting on Monday and let them know that you did the math and would like to clarify and understand their offer.

Do it in a professional and confident way. A lot of women do not ask for what they are worth that's one of the reasons we are paid less for the same work as a man. I'm not saying that they are doing this on purpose, but if you feel comfortable-speak up.

Good luck-and get em!

Johnny&Maur Posted: Oct 28, 2005 09:59 AM

Re: NWR: I need salary advice

Posted by Blu-ize

One point: as a part timer you are entitled to OT after 40 hrs like everyone else.

You should be paid on a pro-rated basis. The benefits you are choosing not to take-that's your decision, however some employers will give you $$ back for that (not all)

Please speak up for yourself at your meeting on Monday and let them know that you did the math and would like to clarify and understand their offer.

Do it in a professional and confident way. A lot of women do not ask for what they are worth that's one of the reasons we are paid less for the same work as a man. I'm not saying that they are doing this on purpose, but if you feel comfortable-speak up.

Good luck-and get em!

Thanks for this advice :) I will speak up...while I can understand that i'll have maybe less taxes taken out, I am also not having any benefits so it saves them $$. I just thought, that knowing I have 4 years experience they would offer a little more per hour. I do NOT want to be settling when they could potentially pay more. It makes me feel uneasy and I really do like this company. We'll see I guess!

Blu-ize Posted: Oct 28, 2005 10:19 AM

Re: NWR: I need salary advice

Posted by Johnny&Maur

Posted by Blu-ize

One point: as a part timer you are entitled to OT after 40 hrs like everyone else.

You should be paid on a pro-rated basis. The benefits you are choosing not to take-that's your decision, however some employers will give you $$ back for that (not all)

Please speak up for yourself at your meeting on Monday and let them know that you did the math and would like to clarify and understand their offer.

Do it in a professional and confident way. A lot of women do not ask for what they are worth that's one of the reasons we are paid less for the same work as a man. I'm not saying that they are doing this on purpose, but if you feel comfortable-speak up.

Good luck-and get em!

Thanks for this advice :) I will speak up...while I can understand that i'll have maybe less taxes taken out, I am also not having any benefits so it saves them $$. I just thought, that knowing I have 4 years experience they would offer a little more per hour. I do NOT want to be settling when they could potentially pay more. It makes me feel uneasy and I really do like this company. We'll see I guess!

Your tax rate is the same in that salary range. So you would be paying less taxes but you are also making less. Speak up girl! You are worth it! Don't get into the whole tax thing with them. Simply put, your expertise and your FT salary would have been $, so you should be prorated. Then after they agree to that ask them for a concession for your benefits.

wilandnet Posted: Oct 28, 2005 10:46 AM

Re: NWR: I need salary advice

From a HR perspective:

Well I would first find out if the FT position is classified as an exempt or non-exempt position. If the FT position is salaried, exempt, than the pay evens out. Exempt positions do not receive OT hours, so if the average OT hours are 40-50, on average 45, this is what they may be basing the PT pay on.

As someone else pointed out, you not accepting their health benefits is your decision. That will almost never effect your rate of pay, although, as previously mentioned, some companies will hive you xx amount as a check if you don't use their benefits. If they increase your pay off the basis that you do not accept their benefits, and something was to happen to FH's job and you had to enroll in your benefits there, would you want them to lower your pay at that point?

Also, it is not uncommon for a company to offer a salary to FT positions, and a different rate for PT. However, if the positions are non-exempt, and FT ee's receive OT compensation, than I would raise this point and see if they will match that hourly rate or at least meet you halfway.