Is it normal practice for a company to keep the pay scale from employees?

[MSgt213]

You know the employee aren't allow to know what the low end of the pay scale is or what the high end of the pay scale is. To better clarify the company can pay two people at the same grade level two different salaries for any number of reasons like more experience etc., but if you go to ask for a raise you have no idea what's out of line or not because you don't know what the highest is you can go.

[GOPisEvil]

1. That seems very odd to me.

But then I work in state government...

[MSgt213]

4. It's odd to me to but it's happening to my wife at the company she works

at. Let's say you and I are employee's at this company. Doing the same job no one is senior in rank although one might be senior with time with the company. The company has pay grades. Let's say 1 through 5 are the pay grades. Within each pay grade there is a pay scale that they can pay you without promoting you to the next higher grade of two but you are not allow to know what the high end is.

[GOPisEvil]

10. That would bug me.

I would think it would be me right to know what my potential financial earnings could be. But, I suppose that this is secret so that certain employees could earn outside the range if they are excellent or a friend of the boss.

[arewethereyet]

2. yes, its quite normal in the private sector

forget what is or is not out of line. make a case for what you want and if its valid you'll probably get it. if its not, whats wrong with your evaluation process ?

this is actually a good practice to keep it unknown. it allows managers to reward quality without hurting the feelings of non-quality.

[MSgt213]

8. Thanks so much

[SoCalDem]

14. Private companies do this all the time.. That's why unions

are so great.. You know exactly how many hours you must work to get to the next stage and you know exactly how much everyoone else is making and WHY..

It cuts down on the pettiness..

[mhr]

3. Yes This Is Quite Normal

If the employees knew what the pay scales were, then all employees would ask for the max.

The company keeps this secret to keep the costs down.

Mind you this is not justification just reality in corporate America.

[MSgt213]

6. Thanks for the explanition now I understand

[TreasonousBastard]

12. One more point...

payscales are kept private for a lot of reasons, but one of the more practical reasons is that managers are often given overall salary budgets, and make adjustments to the pay within the department.

A good manager will try to pay everyone reasonably well, and give the better raises to the better people, but he still has to deal with that budget and there will be inequities. The budget could be blown out for many reasons, like having to pay much more for a replacement for someone who just quit.

[Gman]

5. This is not uncommon in a non-union shop

Its also a defense against union organizing.

[MSgt213]

7. Thank you it is a non-union shop

[jmowreader]

9. Mine doesn't even have a pay scale

And y'all are like "the second biggest retailer in the world has no pay scale?" Tis true.

Everyone working for us has a unique level of pay.

Some of the things that go into your compensation calculation:

* How long has the Associate been with the company?
* Does the Associate have any skills that we can use, and what are they?
* What store does the Associate work at? Home Depot of Boston, Mass, pays better than Home Depot of Pineville, NC.
* How many and what kind of licenses, certifications, etc., does the Associate have?
* Is the Associate driving more than 30 miles one way to get to work? Someone who lives a long way from the store will earn a little more than someone who lives across the street; the added income will help pay your fuel bill.

If you go to ask for a raise, the highest you can go is different for everyone--associate A with a general contractor's license, associate B with a Certified Kitchen Designer card, and associate C who has two disciplinary notices in his file and no special qualifications will all receive different raises if they walk into the HR guy's office at the same time.

Home Depot pays good wages, but how good depends on who you are.

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. Twenty years ago I worked for a company that made it a fireable offense

if you told another employee what you made in the way of a salary.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

13. Quite normal except at my office

since I'm the one who keeps the books and writes the paychecks, I let everyone know if they want to. The boss doesn't seem to mind (and he hates Bush, so this place is a good one at which to work!)

[scottcsmith]

15. Really?

That hasn't been my experience, and I worked for a huge corporation. I knew the pay scale for my pay grade. In fact, the company Intranet had a page where you could look up your pay info and see what the pay range for your grade is.

[truthseeker1]

16. Every company I've worked for has kept it a secret

and several companies had company policies that said employees were not allowed to discuss their pay or pay grades with each other.

[ProudGerman]

17. This is how I've encountered it as well

I think its so they can make you think you are making more than other people, when in fact you are making about the same.

[Heddi]

18. I've only worked at 2 jobs where it was publically available

One was at a newspaper that had pay grades, and each grade had a min and a max, but no set values in between, so managers had flexibility when it came to raises and reviews.

THe job I currently works has published pay grades with min and max AND all grades in between listed (THey go A-F, with A being min and F being max pay). So Let's say I'm grade 6C, and make 2500 a month (we're paid on a monthly basis). When I get my review and a pay raise, I'll be raised to 6D and make....whatever people at 6D make ($2650 or something a month).

I guess I don't mind either way if the pay scales are published or not, and if they are published, if they are done in the way my current job lists them, or the way my previous job did.

THe only advantage to having it the way my current job does it is that I know how much I'll get if I get a raise, and I know how much I'll make if I switch jobs and get into another pay scale, so it helps me decide if I want to make lateral moves throughout the company or whatever.

But generally speaking, most companies keep their pay scales private, and I think that's because ALOT of companies DON'T have pay scales---at least the jobs I've had in the past paid a 'general' yearly salary (ex: $25,000 a year) and then when raises came along, the raise was 2% or 5% or whatever of your salary a year.....Either way, as long as I get paid, heddi is a happy girl :)