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I have about 4 years experience in the software industry. I recently resigned from current organization.

During negotiation I mentioned my salary difference with my colleagues doing similar work. My colleagues (With 1 year less experience) are getting paid about twice my current salary, probably because I did not graduate from a leading university.

I mentioned the discrepancy at many appraisals. I casually said "you will be able to replace me but you would have to pay at least 2 times the salary to a new employee" to my manager. Is this unprofessional? I argued "One should not give different salary for same kind of work".

DJClayworth
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WorkaroundNewbie
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3 Answers3

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Is this unprofessional statement in negotiation?

No, it is not if you can in fact back up that statement and deliver it without being sarcastic.

I have been where you are earlier in my career, and based on what I can gather from your post the only way you are going to get your salary up to standard is by getting another offer. The odds of your current employer increasing your pay that much is slim to none.

Once you do, leave, as your current employer obviously does not value you as they should.

Neo
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(US-Midwest perspective. Your situation may vary.)

I don't see anything wrong with this approach, as 'These people make twice what I do .. name anyone that's performing twice as much as I am?' is a perfectly valid question. Possible answers can run the range of you're job class/pay range is less than theirs, the rules were different with your onboarding than theirs, maybe you're really not outperforming them, merger where their pay/benefits had to stay the same, who knows.

You may be asked how you found out about salary information, so hopefully you have an answer to that other then 'I did something I shouldn't have and saw what everybody makes around here.'

Good luck.

Jim Horn
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I casually said "you will be able to replace me but you have to pay at least 2 times of the salary to new employee" to my manager .is this unprofessional ?

Yes, it is. What the organization should or should not do is none your business.

You can clearly mention what your expectation is - and they can agree to that or not. Like:

My expectation is to be paid $XX, according to the value delivered by me and my analysis of the industry standard.

is absolutely acceptable. However, you are not supposed to pass on judgement and expert advise on the matters which are beyond your concern (ex - remuneration of other employees).

Let them figure out

  • how to find a replacement
  • how much to pay for the new employee.
Sourav Ghosh
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    Not the right answer. If your employer is paying others twice as much for the same work that is absolutely your business. – DJClayworth Apr 24 '19 at 13:23
  • @DJClayworth I don't know about other part of the world, but in India I see something along the line of "all matters of compensation is confidential between employee and employer" in the agreement. So , mentioning knowing about someone else's compensation structure would be a breach of agreement. – Sourav Ghosh Apr 24 '19 at 13:37
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    OP said nothing about any particular worker's compensation package. There is a big difference between knowing in general what some others are being paid and knowing what a specific person is being paid – DJClayworth Apr 24 '19 at 13:41
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    The only correct answer – Fattie Apr 24 '19 at 13:53
  • @DJClayworth sorry, I still see no merit, these "some others" has to be someone specific, otherwise the argument wont hold. Also, if the counter-question comes as: "How do you know?" - how do you propose to answer? Will you be able to prove your point without pointing to someone specific? – Sourav Ghosh Apr 24 '19 at 15:08
  • @DJClayworth What I suggested to avoid getting into that loophole altogether - mention the canned statement "as compared to market rate". Much safer, IMHO. – Sourav Ghosh Apr 24 '19 at 15:09