Is this lawful...giving a raise to selected employees?

[Electric]

Its called favoritism and nepotism

unless you suck up to the boss, you aint nobody there...no matter how hard you try work

Do you know this is the situation in this case? No you don't.

 

[Magnum]

To get to the OP question. Raises and bonuses are an gift. You cannot demand or expect it. And you are also not allowed to know who received what. Its private and the persons at fault of letting the information slide can be fired.

If you want loyalty go home and pet your dog. I am here to work and get paid for the work I perform. Skip out on what I am entitled to and you will regret it to the day you die! I am a good employee but I can be a bastard the day I am in a bad mood.

 

[Datura]

Further to this I think the bar for that of a hard worker has definitely dropped over the last decade or so. Especially with the younger entitlement generation and the glowing example of a government many people are mistaken in their ideas that they are entitled to everything. I don't work very hard when I don't feel like it (which isn't very often) but at least I know my skills are rare so I get to set the precident.

Throw into that the fact that there is Google so no one actually needs to know anything anymore so it's cool to be stupid. Now we're stuck with a generation of kids that passed matric on no merit of their own and are too stupid to have any common knowledge who sit with their hands out "asking for christmas" every 5 seconds because they "deserve" and are "entitled" and at the end of the day you are entitled to absolutely zero. When your parents said you're special they forgot to say "just like everyone else". No one owes you anything!

This should help anyone who needs it along in life:
http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/09/why-generation-y-yuppies-are-unhappy.html

It's a great example - let me give you a particular excerpt:

"Paul Harvey, a University of New Hampshire professor and GYPSY expert, has researched this, finding that Gen Y has “unrealistic expectations and a strong resistance toward accepting negative feedback,” and “an inflated view of oneself.” He says that “a great source of frustration for people with a strong sense of entitlement is unmet expectations. They often feel entitled to a level of respect and rewards that aren’t in line with their actual ability and effort levels, and so they might not get the level of respect and rewards they are expecting.”"

Great link. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Datura]

Expectations have become premeditated resentments.

 

[^^vampire^^]

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but everyone believes that they are.

You should have a discussion with your employer, using performance measurables, to try and prove that you are.

Just further to this where OP says "I'm damn good at my job".

I'm a software developer - I probably earn inline with the market what I should, possibly a bit more. I would say I'm decent at my job as (a) I usually get the job I apply for (b) I currently have a job (c) I earn possibly a bit more than someone with my skills and experience. Note I say decent! I have been programming since I was 12, I'm now 27, and this has definitely given me an edge over many other candidates in the market.

Still, my brother is far better than me at the job - I would say he is pretty good - he was voted the best dev in the country at one of the biggest financial firms in the country. I used to work with a guy that was like a mad scientist when it came to development - always on the cutting edge of the latest tech etc. The CEO of the company (an international financial institution) came down to personally try and pursuade him not to leave the company - that's damn good at your job.

Unfortunately people have traded the idea of "okayish", "decent" or somewhere in between for "damn good". Damn good is when you stand out from the crowd and people notice how good you are and really can't help but acknowledge you for it. Unless the OPs boss has an extreme liking for only men, or an extreme hate for woman you would have been acknowledged for being damn good and compensated accordingly. Even if a boss hates your guts they will more than likely suck it up and do what they need to if you add value that they can't falter. Although with the amount of people dicking around all day at work while thinking they are damn good and not doing much to prove it I reckon you actually fall into the "okayish" to "decent" (at a stretch) category - just like 99% of everyone at every job in the country.

 

[^^vampire^^]

Expectations have become premeditated resentments.

Agree 100%. Go to work, do your job and at the end of the month get your salary.

If you employer decides to give you a bonus then **** your pants with happiness and enjoy the good fortune life has bestowed upon you.

 

[Drifter]

Too much of a sense of entitlement from OP. Does that sound familiar?

 

[Electric]

I wonder why she didn't return to respond?
Maybe because we all think she sounds entitled, lol.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

Want to say my 0.05c's worth, but can't because I'll be caught out...

So I rather stay quiet and sing happy songs till I find another work...

 

[froot]

Want to say my 0.05c's worth, but can't because I'll be caught out...

So I rather stay quiet and sing happy songs till I find another work...

/sends to Ook's boss :twisted:

 

[The_Unbeliever]

/sends to Ook's boss :twisted:

Shush you

 

[Bobbin]

If you earn over a certain amount you are not entitled to overtime pay.

Is a moot point really. What about those who don't earn more? Take an entry level IT guy for instance who's asked to do the work of 2 people.

I believe a contract is a contract for obvious reasons. Giving a little bit more to the company is good in certain circumstances. But the company EXPECTING it is bad. There is a subtle but major difference in principle especially in todays times.

 

[Bar0n]

Is a moot point really. What about those who don't earn more?

They can demand to work no more than 3 hours of overtime a day and 10 hours overtime a week. They may demand to be reimbursed at 1.5x or 2x their hourly rate or demand the have 90 minutes off for every 60 minutes worked. These demands are legal and may not be overridden by a contract or refused by an employer.

 

[Bobbin]

Agree 100%. Go to work, do your job and at the end of the month get your salary.

If you employer decides to give you a bonus then **** your pants with happiness and enjoy the good fortune life has bestowed upon you.

Bonus no, it shouldn't be expected.

Raise, yes. It should be expected in principle. Anyone with a basic financial literacy should understand inflation. Only if the company is going backwards is there a problem.

 

[Bobbin]

They can demand to work no more than 3 hours of overtime a day and 10 hours overtime a week. They may demand to be reimbursed at 1.5x or 2x their hourly rate or demand the have 90 minutes off for every 60 minutes worked. These demands are legal and may not be overridden by a contract or refused by an employer.

Try that with a corporate and see

Just from observation... I'm not most affected as I'm not IT support anymore...

One company refused overtime but wanted deadlines met and would never hire more resources no matter how much the scope increased. The company culture from management was to almost brag about the overtime else you weren't "worthy". I was once in that position where the FD told me to suck it up when I was supporting 300 users at multiple branches and divisions with multiple GM's and minimal tools, asset management, arranging month end statements for finance, procurement, training offsite salesforce teams, helpdesk + full hardware and software support, running global directed projects and more all on my own with minimal authority as a "PC Support Officer"... so I left. This company was 50 000 strong worldwide. They could have at least got me some help. But I was the bad guy because I couldn't keep up.

Another company pays 1/3 only even on a weekend, apparently to "discourage overtime". But for example if one of the branches moves premises the IT guys have to work all weekend at that rate and the company will therefore minimize expense of third party assistance.

These corporates are clever though because nothing is tangible, they can always deny.

If you're in the field, step into any corporate and have a chat to the lower guys (Especially service departments or overheads) or anyone except top management.

Sure they can still refuse, go work elsewhere, stop complaining or whatever. But in reality things aren't always that easy.

 

[zippy]

Oh no don't go work for a corporate, you will regret it. I've been in 2 and both don't pay overtime, yet expect it, and are always out of budget. They milk people for all they are worth IMO

As for the entitlement aspect. Fair is fair. Remember that job loyalty no longer exists and people are more dispensable than ever. It isn't worth giving your heart and soul to a company but at the same time you must honor your contract and prove you're an asset as you should be. So both employer/employee must meet half-way.

Sounds like she is likely to be treated better by a corporate than a small operation, where she has to deal with some dick who has a god complex because he runs his own little fiefdom.

 

[Bar0n]

Try that with a corporate and see

Doesn't matter who you work for. The law is the law and they won't win. People need to stand up for themselves, they need educate themselves on what the law states.

 

[TelkomUseless]

. The company culture from management was to almost brag about the overtime else you weren't "worthy .

yea.. wtf is up with that? I have seen it before...

 

[rza]

I work for a small IT company where I'm not happy at all. Last month my employer gave a certain few employees a raise and left out about 30% of us with neither a raise nor an explanation as to why we didn't get any. Is this lawful to discriminate like this, to add on that none of the women at the company got a raise.

I am livid as I know I'm damn good at my job. Is this just a case of unfairness or is it unlawful?

Gemini, I'm sorry that you had to get advice from labour law idiots and those who laugh at their bosses' stupid jokes so they can be in their good books.

Every year we (my fellow shopstewards and I) deal with the same grievances around bonuses, and we win them more than we lose them. I can assure you that you have a case against your employer based on the truthfulness of what you tell us. It is an unfair labour practice to pay bonuses to some while not paying it to others without any fair explanation or methodology. If a company intends to pay discretional bonuses, then they have to stipulate in a policy who gets to qualify for such a bonus, and how one gets to qualify for such a bonus. This will ensure that employees know what is required of them and they are subjected to a fair labour practice. Any employee who meets the qualifications of such a bonus policy should be paid accordingly, although the company can still have a discretion in terms of an amount to be paid if an amount was not stipulated in the policy but they are still obliged to pay something if all qualifications are met.

If an employee meets the qualifications for a bonus, and all other qualifications are met like a company meeting a target, yet no bonus was paid to her, then she has a right to satisfy herself that a fair process was followed and she is not unfairly discriminated against. This right is called access to information as per sections 89 and 90 of Labour Relations Act. So you can ask your employer to disclose the process that was followed in the determination of bonuses, and how they decided which people should get bonuses and which shouldn't. You also have a right to see how much people received as a bonus if you feel that the bonus you received is unfairly less than that received by others. If the employer refuses to divulge this information then you have a right to take the matter to CCMA or Labour Court to force the employer to disclose the information.

Anyway, the Employment Equity Act is designed to deal with the fact that women were excluded from bonus payout. It seems that your employer is a sexist and that is illegal. If it is true that no woman was paid a bonus, or women were generally excluded even though a few were paid, then you can still go to CCMA to lodge a dispute. Commissioners at CCMA and judges of the LC don't take kindly to male chauvenists. Another recourse which can run parallel with the CCMA dispute is to report the company to the Department of Labour for contravention of Employment Equity Act by excluding women from bonuses.

However, taking on the company takes guts and emotional strength, and you will have to evaluate if it's worth your while. I always tell my union members that it's always worth their while.

 

[Electric]

Yes rza, the workers always tell the truth.