Knowing a colleague gets paid more for doing exact same job can be frustrating. The more this happens, the more time employees spend wondering if now is the moment to change job or ask for a salary increase. According to the Netherlands National Salary Survey 2021, pay is the most important motive for considering changing jobs (men 60%, women 50%). Although money should never be the only reason for quitting, everyone wants a reward that is appropriate for their role. To find out if a position is being underpaid, consider the tips below offered by specialists from the Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands.
Salary Compass
If employees wonder whether they are earning enough, they can fill in the Salary Compass, a free platform that shows whether the salary corresponds with the job. After entering the requested details including the number of working hours, education, and position, it is possible to see immediately whether the salary is in line with the market average. This offers insight into employment conditions and whether there is room for negotiation with the employer: if a considerably higher salary is discovered thanks to this handy tool, the employee has a solid argument to ask for a raise.
Compare vacancies
Another method of testing salary equity is to check job boards and search for positions similar to the one currently held. The earnings are often listed with the vacancies so it’s pretty easy to get a good idea of the competitive compensation for a particular job. However, it is important to pay attention to factors that can significantly influence the salary such as experience or location.
See also: A dozen tips for good salary negotiation
Asking colleagues
The most direct way for an employee to find out if they are being paid enough is to ask colleagues about their salaries. However, this is quite a sensitive subject, and asking such a question may even be considered rude. People do not like to talk about their income which can sometimes be considered to be rather negative because transparency about salaries can actually lead to better team performance. Inequality does not necessarily lead to tension.
Asking others
If asking colleagues may seem rude then approaching others working in the sector for another company can be a good idea. An alternative is to ask recruiters what is standard in the market because they will know better than anyone what a competitive salary is (and maybe they even know about a tempting vacancy).
Women earn less
According to the latest Global Gender Pay Gap report, across all regions, women are paid less than men, with the gender pay gap estimated to be 23% globally. For women, there is still a good chance that they will be paid less than their male colleagues working in exactly the exact same position. If that is the case, they should start a conversation with their boss and be confident enough to ask for a salary increase.
See also: Women’s income decreases after giving birth, fathers’ is on the rise
Is this the right job?
When an employee is still earning the salary that corresponds to their job description but the work involved has changed over time without the offer of a promotion, that person might not be in the right job. An official job change must be agreed and this often includes agreements on amended conditions of employment. If an employee is handling more and more responsibilities and tasks without automatically being offered a raise, this is a very valid reason to ask for a higher salary.
After studying these suggestions, take a look at the DevelopmentAid job board which contains more than 8,000 job opportunities in the international development sector to find the most suitable position and fair salary.
