Breach of contract;what should I do?

LegacyUser

I recently took up an IT support job and I was interviewed by the company's DBA (Database Administrator). He told me the job was to take some of his duties off him and there would also be some project work. I got the job and on my first day there the DBA told me he was leaving so I asked who would be doing his job. "You will" was the reply. The head of IT hasn't really discussed this change with me apart from telling me that he that he didn't know the DBA was leaving until I started (I don't believe that for a second). Because it was a support job the salary figure I asked for was in line with the current rate for an IT/DBA support position.
However now I am doing a job with much greater responsibility and workload but not receiving a proportionate salary. I am fairly sure it is a breach of my contract because if you read the section below from it, it states quite clearly that my job is to "assist" the current DBA (but he's not there anymore)

"Job Description:
In your role as Systems Support you will directly assist the current in-house DBA/Systems developer in maintenance of the current ERP System, making modifications and working on future related projects. This will be a very hands-on role and training and mentoring will be provided on the job"

I am fairly annoyed as I am now being underpaid and also have received no training or mentoring. It seems to have been done in a very under-hand way to get me to work for a lower salary in a higher grade job.
Thank you for any replies but I may not be able to reply for a couple of days because I can't go on this site at work.

dennyk

Have you discussed the role and your job duties with your manager after this news came out, or are you just assuming that the full responsibility of the senior role would fall to you based on what the short-timer DBA said? Do you even have the qualifications and experience that would be necessary to handle that role on your own? It's quite possible that the company will be looking to hire or promote someone else to the senior DBA role rather than leaving it in the hands of a brand new junior employee without the necessary experience, though it might take a bit of time to arrange that. If that's the case, I'd look on this as an opportunity to show that you can learn quickly and are willing to go above and beyond to help when needed by pitching in as much as you are able to while they're working to fill the position.

If they do end up making you responsible for all of the DBA's old duties going forward, you might have a good case for asking for a bit of a salary increase, given the increased responsibilities you are being asked to take on (though you still need to keep in mind your own experience level and factor that in; they're simply not going to pay you as much as a guy who's been a senior DBA for a while, regardless of what job duties they're giving you). If the company doesn't want to bump up your pay, you might still want to stick with it for a bit for the valuable experience and the good material for your CV for when you go looking for a job that actually pays you what you're worth in a year or two.

When you do sit down to discuss this with your boss, I would focus more on the training and mentoring aspect, particularly if you are new to the field. Explain that you are eager to expand and develop your skills and want to make sure that the support you need to do so will still be available. Going in complaining about your salary and 'contract violations' straight away will not reflect well on you and could hurt your career (and not just with this company; the IT world is very fluid, people move around a lot, and you never know who you might end up working with or working for a few years down the line).

LegacyUser

dennyk wrote: »

Have you discussed the role and your job duties with your manager after this news came out, or are you just assuming that the full responsibility of the senior role would fall to you based on what the short-timer DBA said?

The IT manager hasn't discussed it with me. I am doing the old DBA's job, I am sure of that.

dennyk wrote: »

Do you even have the qualifications and experience that would be necessary to handle that role on your own? It's quite possible that the company will be looking to hire or promote someone else to the senior DBA role rather than leaving it in the hands of a brand new junior employee without the necessary experience, though it might take a bit of time to arrange that. If that's the case, I'd look on this as an opportunity to show that you can learn quickly and are willing to go above and beyond to help when needed by pitching in as much as you are able to while they're working to fill the position.

I am not a junior employee really; I have about eight years experience but I was not interviewed for the DBA role.

dennyk wrote: »

If they do end up making you responsible for all of the DBA's old duties going forward, you might have a good case for asking for a bit of a salary increase,

I am doing his duties at the moment.

dennyk

Ah, well, if you are an experienced DBA, that's a different story. I'd meet with your manager to revisit your salary requirements in light of your unexpected promotion to senior DBA, and if the company isn't willing to adjust your salary to your satisfaction, then it's probably time to start hunting...

quietsailor

Is it worth casually dropping it into a conversation with your manager some day -- "That was a surprise getting promoted from assistant support to systems manager, when will we sit down and work out the new salary arrangements?"

It could backfire though and they could go out and hire in someone over you for the job and relegate you back to your original role. One thing is for sure though, if you leave this continue you will find it hard to make a case in a few months for a salary rise - even if it is to have a conversation with your boss going "lets call it probation for 3 months and then meet again" - yes I know others will say they'll use you as cover until they interview and then hire someone but what else can you do? Refuse to carry out his duties?

the_pen_turner

quietsailor wrote: »

Is it worth casually dropping it into a conversation with your manager some day -- "That was a surprise getting promoted from assistant support to systems manager, when will we sit down and work out the new salary arrangements?"

It could backfire though and they could go out and hire in someone over you for the job and relegate you back to your original role. One thing is for sure though, if you leave this continue you will find it hard to make a case in a few months for a salary rise - even if it is to have a conversation with your boss going "lets call it probation for 3 months and then meet again" - yes I know others will say they'll use you as cover until they interview and then hire someone but what else can you do? Refuse to carry out his duties?

But you would be no worse off if they hired above you.
It a choice of more work and more pay or agreed open work for same pay