I work for a company that increases its wage less than inflation, how do they get away with it?

[Alxndr]

So I work for a company called Tesco, it's the largest supermarket in the UK and every year they announce a pay rise, but the amount the pay increases is often ever so slightly lower than inflation, while being ever so slightly above minimum wage.

But they're very sneaky with how they do it. For example they'll say that inflation was 3.3% so we're increasing our wage by 3.5%, thus beating inflation. But in the next paragraph they'll say they're reducing sunday premium pay or night premium pay.

So when you work it out, inflation is 3.3% but when you account for the pay rise AND the pay cuts from the other things, it works out at like a 2.5% pay rise, so it's actually a pay cut...

Yes I probably should have gone to uni and got some skills and improved myself whatever yada yada but at the end of the day without people like me, those people who went to uni earning £80,000 a year can't buy their groceries.

Every job contributes to the overall functioning of society. A construction worker builds a house, that a programmer lives in, who codes software for a company, that then hires staff, that run the supermarket for the programmer and construction worker to buy food.

It's a symbiotic relationship. We all need each other... I'm not asking for £20 an hour or a stupid 30% pay rise. I know my job is low skill low entry, but damn can you at least give me a wage that beats inflation so I'm not constantly earning less and less money relative to inflation...

The problem is if you're a highly skilled educated worker and your company screws your salary over then you'll just quit and find another job. But when you work a low wage job, the companies know that you need them more than they need you.

If I quit Tesco today it could take me months to find a new job, while Tesco could replace me the next day. So they simply don't care if you're unsatisfied because you are incredibly easy and fast to replace.

[DoomsDay]

low skill job, and the pay has to keep up with inflation rate?
like what did you do with your time, when you get no skill, and you get no relationship.
and if that's how you intend to spend time on earth, you could just go back into being monkey, heck, monkey knows to accumulate skill for their food.

maybe you are the type, that's good with words, spent times with it, but somehow in this world of brute and skills, you haven't figure out your place,
like wise, like wise, I wouldn't know what to comment about mingy salary that cant keep up with inflation.

[Yew Nough]

Well, infinite profit is not achievable, but some companies still pursue it.

Good on you for quitting; people forget that the company you work for also has to 'work for you'.

Update your resume and pursue something 'a step up' from your old position that can use your experience.

[Chalupacabaras]

That's pretty mild, compared to some of the sneaky things companies do in the US.

Federal minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum tipping wage, but employers have to apply your tips towards the difference. If you don't make enough tips, your employer has to pay it. But... you get taxed twice on the same income.

Whatever tips you earned outside of the federal minimum wage (tipping wage plus difference made up by your tips) is considered "independent" of your hourly wages, which has taxes taken out in your check. So you've gotta pay a bunch of payroll taxes, upwards of 20 percent, on income that's actually greater than what you made every two weeks.

A similar tactic is overtime. Sure, you get paid time and a half but it's taxed like an hour's work at a higher pay.

Then there's the obligatory 401(k), which companies offer as a benefit for employees to save for retirement. Whatever amount you agree to set aside from your paycheck, the company will match, all's fine well and good... except you need to remain employed at the company for a certain number of years (typically 5-7) before getting "vested" and able to take the funds when you eventually leave.

With very few exceptions, American companies lay off non-managerial employees before that happens because of "right to work" laws. So in essence, you're paying your employer to provide paid employment which can be terminated at any time for any reason, or no reason at all.

Tesco's at least being honest about screwing you over.

[MinionJoe]

Yeah, most employers do this to encourage employees to either move up or move on.

It's always been my least favorite part of working in the private sector. But the opportunities are better.

[Affronter]

Imagine wages meeting, or beating, inflation. To pay for those wages, costs will increase, ergo inflation will grow. It's a neverending cycle. Capitalism is a flawed system.

[LeviathanWon]

They own you, they will never decide to raise the price to pay you, they there to rip you off and de-Humanize you, try to sue them for a wage increase keep doing it, and tell your other co workers to go the same.

[Chalupacabaras]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Affronter:

Imagine wages meeting, or beating, inflation. To pay for those wages, costs will increase, ergo inflation will grow. It's a neverending cycle. Capitalism is a flawed system.

It's a decent system but the problem is how the system is calibrated. Keynesian economics is based on consumption, not production, presenting "the ends justify the means" instead of capitalism's philosophy of "the means to an end."

[Bjørn]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Chalupacabaras:

That's pretty mild, compared to some of the sneaky things companies do in the US.

Federal minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum tipping wage, but employers have to apply your tips towards the difference. If you don't make enough tips, your employer has to pay it. But... you get taxed twice on the same income.

Whatever tips you earned outside of the federal minimum wage (tipping wage plus difference made up by your tips) is considered "independent" of your hourly wages, which has taxes taken out in your check. So you've gotta pay a bunch of payroll taxes, upwards of 20 percent, on income that's actually greater than what you made every two weeks.

I saw a news segment on that recently. Sounded pretty complicated, and the workers had never heard of any employer who had actually paid if they didn't get enough tips, like they should. Sometimes they ended up having to pay to work, or something like that.

The ones they interviewed had moved to another state, where the rules were different, and they made good money.

But they were all looking forward to the tax-free tips promised by Trump.

[Fosty]

I work for a company that doesn't increase it's wage for inflation.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

And here's Costco raising minimum wage for a bunch of its stores to $30/hr.

[Amanda]

Learn sales: read Dot Com Secrets by Russel Brunson, Copywriting Secrets by Jim Edwards, and Sales Success by Brian Tracy.

Create an ad that storysells your product, create a branded product page, and create an amazing offer.

There are some people making $100,000 a month running an ecommerce business with Shopify.

[LeviathanWon]

Start going to work in American Football gear, they might pay you to work at home. Saves money from no having to go into the office.

[Alxndr]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Breathe:

Maybe they justify it by figuring they don't owe employees any premiums; premiums might be viewed as a bonus (hence, not guaranteed nor in employment contracts). But that's just a guess. I am not from UK, so my understanding is limited.

Well they're not legally obligated to offer premiums, but when you're asking people to work Sundays or the night shift or bank holidays etc, you're kinda expected to pay a little more to get people to work those times because they are not "normal" working days / times.

15 years ago people would drop nights or sundays in a heartbeat if the pay wasn't buffed up because they could afford to, and companies knew this.

But now things have changed where companies have the upper hand now and know they get reduce or even cut premiums entirely and people will still work those times because they have to. Getting a "pay rise" but somehow coming out £100 a month worse off is a big deal for some people.

Opprinnelig skrevet av cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

And here's Costco raising minimum wage for a bunch of its stores to $30/hr.

:nkCool:

That's insane, $30 an hour would be £23 an hour here.

[Chalupacabaras]

Opprinnelig skrevet av Bjørn:

I saw a news segment on that recently. Sounded pretty complicated, and the workers had never heard of any employer who had actually paid if they didn't get enough tips, like they should. Sometimes they ended up having to pay to work, or something like that.

The ones they interviewed had moved to another state, where the rules were different, and they made good money.

But they were all looking forward to the tax-free tips promised by Trump.

The difference is $3 an hour, which is pretty easy to make with basic people skills. Businesses use a software that crunches the numbers and tallies the final daily take home amount, it helps prevent wage theft too.

I currently work part-time as a delivery driver for a local pizza shop, and it's hard to find any full-time office job that can come close to what I make now. The only drawback is that the service industry is seasonal, but being part-time allows for side jobs so it's still good as long as it's not with a competitor.

Definitely looking forward to Trump's plan to ditch taxes on tips, that's what kills me every year when I file.

[ZZZZZ]

half of all companies dont increase wage at all