New job and wages

[PrincessClaire]

hi i have had a new job for a few weeks now in a salon. I am a junior stylist building up my clients and my manager said he was going to start me off on 23 hours a week on £5.75 an hour. once i started i was rotered in for 40 hours a week which was a bonus so i did not complain. now i have come to fill out my payroll form he has now said miniumum wage for a 20 year old is only £4.77 a hour and that it is going to have to change from what we agreed. i am grateful for the job and everything but the job i left for this one was paying me more even when i hadnt fully qualified. what do you make of this should i just get on with it and not say anything? thanks :hug:

 

[minky]

hi i have had a new job for a few weeks now in a salon. I am a junior stylist building up my clients and my manager said he was going to start me off on 23 hours a week on £5.75 an hour. once i started i was rotered in for 40 hours a week which was a bonus so i did not complain. now i have come to fill out my payroll form he has now said miniumum wage for a 20 year old is only £4.77 a hour and that it is going to have to change from what we agreed. i am grateful for the job and everything but the job i left for this one was paying me more even when i hadnt fully qualified. what do you make of this should i just get on with it and not say anything? thanks :hug:

Hi, heres a link that may be helpful :hug: x minky

Negotiating Pay - HJi Jobs

 

[minky]

Hi PrincessClaire are you now qualified ?
do you have a signed contract ?
as I don't think its right for your wages to get lower especially after agreeing a set rate with you at your interview ,
did he say why he is doing this turn around ?

Hairdressers usually have an industry associated wage eg, junior , level 2 stylist L 3 senior stylist ect...
I always thought that is the way it was !... once qualified as we are in a trained profession and we train and gain all our Qualifications to try and earn more than just minimum pay,
usually hairdressers get paid for experience qualifications ect ...
what about comission ?

 

[PrincessClaire]

yes i am now qualified got my certificates the other week but i am still classed as a graduate or junior stylist til i build up my clients and skills a bit further. no nothing was signed but after he said i got the job he brought me in to discuss hours and wages before i started and now when i came to give him the payroll form he said it wasnt going to be that anymore and showed me the web page saying what the minimum wage is. he never mentioned the fact the wage had already been pre arranged before my start date. he said i can make it up in commision but the hurdle is gaining clients which will not come over night. what do you make of this i just wanted a little advice. thanks for your time

 

[leonnib]

i think its wrong as you had a verbal contract with him regarding wage and your wage was agreed between you. so how can he change it when it comes to paying you.
surely he would know what the minimum wage was before hand

 

[PrincessClaire]

what would you do in this situation? i know its only a £1 hour less but it all builds up over the year i dont want to risk loosing my job but your right he shouldnt say im going to be on that then wait til i have done a few shifts with him then suddenly change it. thanks

 

[angel fingers]

sounds wrong to me.
but what can you do, if you refuse to accept the lower rate, it sounds as if they will get someone else and then you'll be earning nothing.
thats a rotten trick to play on you.

 

[angelina221]

I personally would say something. I have found that if you let people walk over you once, they will continue to do so. You agreed a wage before and he has now reneged on that agreement.
A verbal agreement is still an agreement.
If you say something then he will realise you are not a pushover.
Maybe you could come to an agreement whereby you start at a lower rate and then get a higher rate once you have been there a few weeks.
I would get it in writing though although verbal agreements are legally binding.

 

[gregsaunders]

May i just point out that it is illegal for him to pay you less than £5.73 per hour this is the national minimum wage for anyone aged 22 or older, if he pays you less than this he is breaking the law ! just be very tactful and point this out to him,

for more information try
HM Revenue & Customs:National Minimum Wage

Good luck x

 

[PrincessClaire]

if i approach him nicely and explain the situation and how i feel a bit mislead about the pay situation could he let me off if he does not like me standing up for myself? the salon is a good place i would like to keep my job. the other salon i worked in paid me £5.75 and i have a part time job in a hotel where i get £5.75 ever since i was 16 so its a big step down from me with me being 20 now. thanks

 

[PrincessClaire]

i am 20 so technically he can pay me less but he verbally agreed more then has changed it. if i question it i could risk loosing me job. i dont know now i dont really have many people i can speak to this about either for advice.

 

[minky]

Hi, yes it really sucks but .... I think that he is in a much stronger position than you ....and with no legal contract signed either ....

but... I will be honest with you and say to you that I think he wants you there at a cheaper wage than what you agreed upon ,
which I suppose is sort of fair enough if you are not very busy just yet ....

but he shouldnt have misled you like that ...it was very un professional ....
it also sounds like he is offering you an ultimation sort of thing ... eg if you don't like it then tough .... type of thing

I don't think you have much of a choice at the moment especially if you want to stay there , as jobs are pretty hard to come by ,

you could ask him why he did a turn around ? and can he meet you half way something between the two rates ?
might just be worth asking .... (the worst he can say is no)

If you do stay.... which would be good ... if as you say you can use it to gain a lot more experience

then perhaps in a year when you have built up a clientele you will be in a much stronger position to negotiate a better wage plus commission hth :hug: minky x

 

[minky]

Hi, here's another link that may help :hug: minky x

Contracts of Employment for Salon Staff - 09/04/2008 (Hairdressers Journal Interactive - Business)

 

[gregsaunders]

i apologize princess, i missed that you were 20, then unfortunately yes, he has the upper hand as legally he is only required to pay you the lower rate, if i were you i wouldn't get too hung up on it, have a chat with him and say you are disappointed but understand the minimum wage situation mabey ask him for a review every 3-6 months to check your progress and consider increasing your wage the busier and more experienced you get!

and remember the experience you are getting being a junior stylist is worth much more in the long run than the £1 ph difference in your wage,

if it makes you feel any better i am level 2 qualified and have only been able to get work by becoming a level 3 apprentice on £2 ph and i am 23 , we all have to start somwhere !

 

[PrincessClaire]

well greg that shows dedication its just annoyed me that i have already started working and nearly 2 weeks into it he decides to decrease my wage its just not on. hes a lovely man dont get me wrong just i dont think he has done his homework before he has agreed the wages which is bad manager skills. your right though we all have to start somewhere and thanks everyone for your advice i will just bite the bullet and not say anything sorry to rant on and thanks again. xxxxxx

 

[minky]

] i will just bite the bullet and not say anything sorry to rant on and thanks again. xxxxxx

Hi, I think you could gently question it all and say well I thought you said I would be on this amount ? and now its lower which means my wages here would be lower than my last salon was ect... as long as you are polite I dont see there's any harm in trying... at worst he can only say no ,
good luck and let us know how you get on :hug: x minky

 

[gregsaunders]

dont blame you, i would be annoyed too, and i would make sure he knows that you are disappointed but in the grand scheme of things its either loose £1 per hour or loose your job i know what i would choose ! x

 

[natsel]

Hi, I think you could gently question it all and say well I thought you said I would be on this amount ? and now its lower which means my wages here would be lower than my last salon was ect... as long as you are polite I dont see there's any harm in trying... at worst he can only say no ,
good luck and let us know how you get on :hug: x minky

I have to say I agree with minky with what was said above.

Its very underhanded what your boss has done, this happened to me in a previous job I was told i was going to be earning x amount and hour and when I got my first wage packet it was alot less than I was expecting, so I spoke to my boss and just said in my interview you told me I was going to be on x amount an hour, and she turned round and said "yes" well I explained that I wasnt being paid that and was not very happy about it. But it did get sorted out and was changed.

I didnt rant or rave because sometimes although it makes you feel better it does not get you anywhere, but you should say something even if you dont get anywhere just make him aware that you know whats he done. ask for a review every few months once your client base has built up .

good luck

 

[chocolatepickle]

This happened to a collegue of mine when she started work at our company. She spoke to the boss honestly saying that she thought they had agreed on a higher rate and she was dissapointed as she'd taken the job based partly on the wage. It was a friendly conversation and in the end they came to a compomise and met in the middle. She had provided her cv with her DOB from the start so it was them that overlooked it and made the mistake. Was your DOB available to your employer from the stat? If so i would kindly point this out, that you have made the information available so it is him that was more careless. It is a verbal contract that was made so ideally he should honour that, however, if you are going to say something you need to do it asap- if you carry on working without discussing it then it counts as you agreeing to that change (i think) although without a proper contract it is a shady area.
The worst he can do is say no and at the end of it you will still have a job and be gaining valuble experiance so i'd still keep the job even if he doesnt agree.xx

 

[persianista]

How about asking for commission if you bring more than your wage into the salon each week. From his point of view he cant lose as he pays no extra if you dont perform, but incentivises you to do better and better each week. From your point of view you can make up the discepancy in your wages so that you earn a better rate. Everyone wins!