A few years ago in January, one local company released the approved raise for rank and file professionals and supervisors.  This was regularly done three years after the last salary raise.

One employee who benefitted from the raise was Cheska.  She was a single, 25-year-old engineer who came from a middle-class family.  She financially supported herself.  However, she also received extra money from her parents and siblings who have their own small scale businesses.

In the department where Cheska was assigned, were four other engineers.   Performance wise, all of them were capable and consistently met the expected output.   Their attendance and punctuality were also excellent,

Cheska was satisfied with her salary raise which was 15 percent of her monthly salary. One day, when all the engineers in her department ate lunch together, an engineer was so excited that he accidentally disclosed his salary raise.

Wow!   His raise was 20 percent of his monthly salary!   Cheska found out that the rest of the engineers also had the same percentage increase.

From being happy, Cheska began to feel disappointed because she only received 15 percent.   She wondered why this was so when they all started the same year and with the same workload.  All of them would finish assigned tasks before the deadline.

She felt bad but did not complain because in the company, employees who were caught discussing compensation-related matters were subject to dismissal. If  Cheska  aired  her grievance to HR or people managers, she feared that it might put her in hot water.   So, she kept her peace.

Instead of complaining, she quietly researched on the possible reasons for the disparity. After three weeks, she learned that family expenditure was one of the factors in deciding pay increase.   For example, if an employee had a big family to support, the person’s raise will be a little bit higher compared to the others.

Among the four engineers in her department, Cheska was the only single person.   The rest had their own families and children.   This was why she only received 15 percent while the rest received 20 percent increase every three years.

Cheska felt frustrated and demotivated when she learned this.    In her mind, had she known that having a family was a factor, she would have already married her boyfriend and started a family immediately so that she could benefit from increased rate.    What’s more, Cheska’s clan was blessed with genes for having twins and triplets, so in just two deliveries, she could have five children already— she will receive an even higher salary raise!

Calming down, Cheska reflected on the matter and concluded that she disagreed with the salary increase system.    Whether married or with family, an increase should be based on performance.    Considering also that their salary increases worked like compounded interest, eventually when she did decide to have a family, the disparity then between her salary and her colleagues would be far indeed.  This, in the end, she found to be unfair.

Cheska could not resolve this company policy with her own beliefs.   So after one month, Cheska decided to resign from the company.

To give employees a salary raise is good for them and the company.

However, this does not guarantee that all the employees will be happy with the increase that they receive.  What is fair for the employer may not be fair for the employees.  This is why it is better to have a sound and fair compensation structure to avoid salary issues.

No  matter  how  strict  the  employer  implements  confidentiality,  when  it  comes  to employee salary, information can be leaked and result to manpower turnovers due to employee dissatisfaction. When  this  happens,  it  is  an  issue  that  the  HR  group  needs  to  address immediately.

“In the absence of a scientific salary structure in a company, the company finds no guide in the classification and pricing of jobs.   With no rules to go by, pay is often determined only on the basis of mere guess or opinion, thereby causing pay inequities even among jobs that are clearly similar.   The pay that an employee receives from his employer is the primary reason for his being on the job.   He works to earn a living.   His pay provides him with a strong incentive to do his job well.   The employees’   rate of pay often indicates his status in the company.”

–Perfecto S. Sison

How would you feel if you were Cheska?   Will you accept the terms of the company to base salary increase on family needs?   If not, would you have gone to the HR?   Or, like Cheska, will you resign?