SINGAPORE: A skilled technician with nearly five years of service at his company has received a lower salary increment than recent hires.
In a recent post on r/askSingapore, the technician shared his surprise upon discovering that new employees, who have been with the company for just over a year, received a $200 salary increase after their three-month probation.
This is in stark contrast to his own increment history, which has been considerably less generous.
“The increment that I had is merely just a $100, which even got split into 2, roughly $20-30 for 1 year and the next around $60-70 to round up to a whole $100,” he said.
“I was surprised by this and they were too, as they always thought I’ve been earning more than them, as I’ve been working for almost 5 years and I didn’t even have any increment at all until these past 2 years.”
The technician said this disparity bothered him greatly because he had higher educational attainment than the recent hires and “had been working hard before they arrived.
The seniors and engineers have been throwing their work and responsibilities to me even when I’m not a so-called ‘senior’ in the title, which my title just so happened to be the same as the new colleagues,” he lamented.
“I didn’t have any bad performance reviews by my branch office. I’m not angry at my colleagues because I know it’s not their fault but for the company to give them more increment in their salary than me while they only just joined for 1+ years,” he added.
He then asked the online community, “What should I do, do I go and talk to my higher ups and fight for the increment or should I just wait out a little longer and see whether I will get the proper increment to my salary?”
“This is why discussing salary stuff should be a norm.”
In the comments section, Singaporean Redditors speculated that the pay differences might be due to salary adjustments made during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2023).
During this period, many companies raised salaries to attract and retain employees, leading to higher increments for those who switched jobs.
One Redditor added, “Fresh grad salaries have gone up significantly across the board since covid. It’s unfair when companies evaluate new hires with new benchmark and keep quiet for existing staff.
The gap is even bigger for people with lower starting pay. A $500 gap can be worth few years of 2 to 3% increment. I used to think HR will do so called “market adjustment”, but I think too bigly.”
Another Redditor emphasized the importance of salary transparency, writing:
“This is why discussing salary stuff should be a norm. Companies want us to not talk about it to take advantage of us. Of course no need to go into detail the exact cents, but ballpark figures and increment percentages should be discussed.”
Several Redditors also mentioned that, given that he’s already handling tasks and responsibilities typically assigned to higher-level roles, it would be a smart move to bring up the idea of a promotion with his supervisor.
One Redditor said, “If you think your workload and performance has justified for a promotion and you are ready for the next level (which seems you are since the seniors are passing on their stuff onto you), just discuss with your supervisor for a promotion.
It will come with a more sizable increment. Do highlight the increment situation for past few years.”
On the other hand, some Redditors recommended looking for a new job if his current employer doesn’t offer a clear progression path.
One Redditor commented, “Assuming your story is true, management is weak, or intentionally giving you lesser. Either way, you need to leave. The company’s affairs are not yours to worry about.”
Another expressed, “Just leave and go find another company, your pay issue will auto correct.”
Read also: “Would you job hop at age of 55 for 20% salary increment?” — Singaporean uncle asks
Featured image by Depositphotos