It's a story that I've seen played out so many times at so many companies in the past. But my current employer really takes the biscuit. And, this Friday just gone, I handed in my three months’ notice, having found a new role at a company that will pay me what I'm worth.
For reference, I'm eight years into my professional career in IT, working my sixth role for my fourth company in the field, for the first time in a lower management role. I work in Switzerland, where the notice period in my field is typically 3 months. In the city where I work, the minimum wage is 21 an hour, equating to around CHF 3,800 a month on a 42 hour contract, just shy of USD 4,000. It may sound like a lot, but living costs in Switzerland are extortionate. And, while my current salary is more than this, it is still in the bottom 25th percentile based on my education, experience, location, industry, and position, that is, I'm earning significantly less than my market value.
I'd heard stories of others in the past being in my situation. I thought I might be the exception. That the company might realise my abilities and recognise the changes and improvements I've delivered in my short time here. That they might be willing to compensate me in line with my market value in order to retain me. But no.
Four years ago, a systems engineer handed in his notice. He had been asking for a meagre 200 a month pay rise for several years. The request was declined every time. There isn’t really any inflation in Switzerland, so annual pay rises only really come with a change of role or increase in responsibilities. But he’d proven himself over his four years with the company, delivering considerable change, leading to significant improvements, so he was well deserving of an increase to his pay. But, when he got tired of asking and tired of waiting, he started searching for a new job. And then he found one.
He’d spent two years asking for a 2.5% raise. He’d now found a job paying an extra 30%. The company instantly offered the 2,400 a month needed to match his new salary. When he pointed out that the new company was offering a 13th month’s salary and that taxes and health insurance were cheaper where he’d be moving to for the job, so it was equivalent to an extra 3,900 a month, the company raised their offer to just that.
For two years, they couldn’t afford to pay an extra 200 a month, but, suddenly, when the guy hands in his notice, they can afford to fork out an extra 3,900 a month? He said no. He was leaving. And he would be leaving after a month, not the required three. When the company sued him for leaving early, his new employer settled out of court on his behalf.
It was an absolute joke.
Since that guy left, the same happened to a further five people within the IT Department. It got to the point where one senior manager told one of his direct reports that the only way the company would approve a pay rise was if they presented HR with a job offer from another company paying more. Then I found myself being in the same situation, number seven in four years.
Nearly a year ago, I received a promotion and asked for a pay rise. I wanted 20%. Two people had left and weren’t being replaced, reducing the department’s payroll costs by around 250,000 a year. I had picked up a large chunk of their responsibilities. Additionally, in my first year with the company, I’d replaced a few solutions, renegotiated a few contracts, and reworked our licensing model, leading to OPEX savings of around 300,000 a year. And I'd implemented integrations and automation and standards and processes within in that time, which meant that two people leaving didn't have as big an impact as it would have a year earlier. The department was saving over half a million a year, so paying me an extra 16,000 a year was drop in the bucket.
They said they’d try to get me what I wanted. They said it could take some time to get such a large pay rise approved. And so I waited. And waited. And waited. And, eight months later, I received a new contract. They were offering me half of what I was asking, with no back pay. They apparently couldn’t afford to pay more. Yet, in those eight months, I’d shaved another 50,000 off our OPEX and negotiated a hardware purchase that came in 100,000 under the allocated budget in CAPEX.
I took my pen, marked down on the new contract the clauses I wasn’t happy with and wanted adjusted, and then handed it back to my CIO. I told him that he could fix the contract, or he could provide me with a reference and I’d start looking for work elsewhere. He said that they couldn’t afford it. I pointed out the savings I had generated for the department. He said it didn’t matter, they were budgeted separately. I said it was bullshit, that labour for our department came under our cost centre’s OPEX budget, the same one I had shaved 350,000 off in the previous 18 months, the one that was 600,000 lower than when I joined. He said he would see what he could do.
Later that day, I received a reference. It had my old job title on it. I asked them to correct it. They refused, saying I needed to sign a contract first, but, as I had declined the contract, they wouldn’t be doing that. After some arguments, I threatened to take them to court over it. This is something you can do here if your company provides you with an inaccurate reference, and it's free of charge. They laughed at me, so I lodged a request for arbitration with my local labour court. Three days after I had sent my letter to the court, the company received a request from the court to attend an arbitration hearing. The CIO and the head of HR were furious. But, after a short meeting, they agreed to give me the contract, with no pay rise, but a month’s salary as compensation (it is what arbitration would have awarded me), and they gave me an accurate reference.
Two months later, I had found a new job. 40% pay rise, 13th month’s salary, better remote working opportunities, and responsibilities more in line with my long-term goals. This Friday just gone, I handed in my three months’ notice. And you wouldn’t believe it. They offered to match it. And they offered to backdate the salary match to the beginning of the year.
I spent eight months asking for an extra 1,360 a month. After eight months, they offered me 680, with no back pay. I had to lodge a complaint with the labour court just to get an accurate reference, which cost them 6,800. And then, when I found a new job, they were willing to fork out an extra 3,500 a month, plus 17,500 in back pay, to keep me.
Sorry guys, but you had nearly a year to sort this out. This ship has sailed. Between my outstanding overtime and remaining holidays, I have a month of time off built up. So, in two months, I’ll be gone. I’d like to think that maybe you’ve learnt your lesson, but this is the seventh time it’s happened in the last four years, so I’m sure it’ll happen again.