Hive Mind Opinions on a mess up with my dh's salary...

[Kari C in SC]

My dh is a mechanic. We just moved to SC 6 weeks ago. He had a job lined up with what in mechanic pay came with a guaranteed minimum with flat rate. That means that he is paid a "flat rate" hour for however many hours of labor he works in a week. If a alternator calls for 2 hours of labor, that is how much he gets paid regardless of how long it takes to do the job. He also has a minimum. So if the shop has no work, he still get a minimum check. That was a key to him accepting the job because we have lived on flat rate with no guarantee - not a fun thing. Anyway, we got here and his flat rate hour was a certain amount. It was good and a little better than we hoped for. He got this pay rate for 3 weeks. On the 4th week, he had a different flat rate pay calculated that was equal to $5 more than his original rate. He didn't directly question it because his boss had said something about wanting to pay his mechanics more so they were happier and worked harder, etc. For the next 3 weeks, he got this additional $5 an hour. I know some don't see that as a lot of money, but for us - it was just amazing! We have had such a stressful year of two house payments, etc. We were seeing a light and feeling that maybe things were going to work out. So, this week, he got his check and it was back to the original pay rate - $5 less an hour. He questioned this and his boss told him that his mother had done the payroll and had put the payrate in by mistake those past 3 weeks. He said it was their mess up, so they would just take the cost. This leaves us wondering if we should -

 

1. Just be thankful the original pay rate will cover our bills and move on.
   
2. Ask for him to reconsider the pay rate since we had made some adjustment in our budget based on the fact we thought this was salary amount.
   
3. Wait till his 90 days are up or 6 months or whatever and ask for the increase.
   
4. Something else - any suggestions?

One more thing - there are 2 other mechanics there. One is at the same level as my dh. The other one is below his skill level. He *thinks* that the same level mechanic is making the pay with the $5 increase just from talk. He *thinks* the lower skill level mechanic is making the same. He sorta feels like if that is the case then he should be making the increased wage based on skill and experience. So, there is the dilemma that has kept my mind wandering for the last day and a half. I know that it will all work out, I just am sorta bummed at the moment. Thanks for reading.

[Renee in NC]

I would be thankful that he received extra pay for the 3 weeks and move on. Be thankful they aren't taking back that extra pay (which they could in many states!)

 

Your dh should NOT talk about pay rates with anyone else in the business. That is a big no-no. It doesn't really matter how much someone else is making, regardless of the skill-level and experience - your dh took the job at the pay rate he accepted.

 

As far as asking for a raise, $5 an hour is HUGE!

[Tammy]

The agreement was less the $5 an hour....so he should be happy he got more those 3 weeks....and not ask for it back.

 

He just started working there...so I wouldn't start asking for raises just yet....nor would I question the other employees about their wages!

 

Tammy

[Jean in Newcastle]

"Just be thankful the original pay rate will cover our bills and move on."

[Whisperlily]

Be thankful!

 

You're going to be getting what he was promised. He was willing to accept the job at the original rate based on his experience and skill. 6 weeks is not long on a new job.

 

Consider the extra money a blessing, and remember that he thought the wage was fair or he wouldn't have taken the job. The wage is still fair. The employer did all you could expect him to do by allowing you to keep the extra money. And $5/hour is a HUGE raise.

 

(I am speaking from experience here. I spent two years working alongside another gal who made my wage + 50%. We were hired at the same time, for the same job. Technically, I was to be a somewhat temporary employee, and she was hired for the permanent position. As it turned out, I was much better suited for the job, and my employer saw that very quickly. I wasn't eligible for benefits, and I wasn't paid for federal holidays. My boss saw this immediately, and even though I never mentioned it, he brought it up after a while. He apologized and told me that he was trying to get approval to make my position "permanent" but it involved jumping through hoops (govt. job).

 

I was able to look him straight in the eye and tell him that I accepted the job based on the offer he had put forward, not based on what someone else was getting. I did tell him I would appreciate a raise, if he was able to negotiate it. ;) But I also told him that I appreciated the fact that he didn't promise me things that he couldn't live up to. (I did tell him that it stung a little, but that was after HE brought up a possible change, and we'd been talking about the situation for a while.)

 

I did get a raise, eventually. And benefits, and a wage higher than my co-worker, though I never mentioned that to her. Knowing the situation, I know he did ALL he could to hurry the process. It probably helped that my co-worker was an incredibly likeable gal. She wasn't very good at the job, but she was wonderful to work with. ;)