Hey gang,
So I started working at a very “successful” agency in the advertising capital of Canada. Our clients include some of the biggest names in Pharmaceuticals in North America. Guess a few, they're more than likely on the list.
When I was hired, I was offered XX,XXX for 35/hrs per week. It was a pretty low salary, but it was my first job in the industry after University, so I took it. Besides, for 35hrs, it almost competed with what I was making as a server beforehand. So I took the job.
After about 5 months, I was supposed to get a salary review in the coming month. I was told there are salary reviews every 6 months. Yesterday, I was told there would be no salary review before 1 year. That kind of rubbed me the wrong way, this is not what I was told in the interview.
You know what else I wasn't told in the interview? That no one works 35hours. In fact, I was told by accounting (word of mouth, no papertrail unfortunately) that if you work less than 40hrs, you will be put on a list, and assigned more work. Everyone is already overworked. The avg person in account services here works 45-50+ hrs a week. They are online 1-2hrs before start at 9am, and sometimes up to 4-5hrs after we close at 5pm. Everyone works through lunch.
So if this was just a matter of, oh work less, less get's done. But the M.O here seems to be, give people more until they burn out. And I've seen it. I was on one brand for 2 weeks, and I saw my supervisor burn out, and up and quit 1 day, with 0 warning. She was immediately removed from all the Microsoft Teams chats, and removed from email chains.
So today I did some math. I thought, in 6-7 months, I'm eligible for a salary review. What would I need to make to be satisfied with the hours I'm putting in. I did the math.. and in order to receive, per hour, what I am contractually obligated to receive, I would need a 30% salary raise.
That's to say, If I were to put in the 45-50 hours that everyone in client services puts in, in order to get my hourly calculated salary in my current contract, ( Hourly x 35hrs = XX,XXX) I would need a 30% salary raise, in a year. Just to be paid what I was promised.
I said fuck it.
And I think I'm going to report them for wagetheft.
Any words of encouragement would be appreciated. If I quit I will not qualify for I.E, and I am not well off unless a certain Game retailer pops off.
I cannot name the company as I'm still under contract with them for 2 weeks, but if anyone wants to throw hypothetical tomatoes at this company, you can !remind me 2 weeks (3 to be sure).
You should also know – as I didn't – avoid agency work like the plague. I'm told this is the industry norm.
Know your worth. Call out capitalist tyrants for wage theft. Tell your coworkers. Tell them they should be mad. Fuck Capitalism.
Thank you.