Have I been effectively demoted ?

[jazz_lover]

I’ve been working in my current company for around 7 months as a senior group accountant. Within the first 3 months my line manager went on maternity leave. As my interview was on zoom I had no idea she was pregnant until I joined! She was a bit abrasive and I sensed she didn’t like me that much and was much nicer to my peer in the same position who’d joined 6m prior. 

Around the 3 month mark she went on maternity leave and we got 18m maternity cover. Before she left she gave me a brief probation review (I passed obv). It was broadly neutral with the criticisms that I needed to become more proficient with their accounting software and better at identifying who the right people to reach out to on various areas in the global organisation as in my early days I’d ask her who was best places for various pieces of info. And some praise for some of the accounting papers I’d written and financial models I’d developed.

She did the handover and her replacement took over. She recognised my strengths lay more in technical accounting and got me to lead a project to upgrade their finance manual with more detailed accounting policies and produce most of the content and I was also assigned some of the more technical memos requested by the auditors and also am doing most of the work preparing the statutory financial accounts. Meanwhile my colleague is doing a lot more on the management reporting ie monthly management accounts. 
 

She’s delegated most of her predecessors job description to my colleague and myself and a guy in India who leads the India team of outsourced accountants. So incredibly hands off to the point of doing nothing. So our workloads have all increased considerably. She’s supposed to be head of group accounting but my colleague is now effectively running the monthly management reporting process and I’m effectively running the finance manual project and production of the statutory accounts. 
 

Over the last two weeks she announced the colleague who joined 6m before me and the Indian finance manager both have received promotions and showed me a new organisational structure where my colleague is now my direct report but I also report into the Indian finance manager and also her. This feels like a demotion as previously reported into her directly and my work streams were largely independent from my colleague and the Indian finance manager. 
 

I managed to get my job title changed making a case that my role had evolved and senior group technical accountant was more fitting. She agreed to that so it was formalised but  no change to my pay was discussed or given even though it’s around the time of year for pay increases bonuses etc. 

A few months ago when my colleague did a year end review I was told I wasn’t going to be given one as at that point I’d only been there 6m and each of my bosses had only managed me for 3m. 
 

I think she knows and her superior definitely knows that I am the strongest technical accountant in the team and the go to guy for any complex accounting issues. Im getting quite a bit of praise from her superior and he’s starting to reach out to me directly and involve me in some high profile meetings. 

My line manager announced last week she’s pregnant and so will leave by the end of the year and as she’s cover won’t return and my old boss will come back next January. Although now of course my direct report and weekly 1:1 meetings are with my colleague. 

I don’t know what to make of it all. I suppose it’s understandable being there only 7 months or so that they probably wont increase my pay in April when the annual salary increases are made even though my role has evolved and is arguably a lot more valuable than the one I was hired for and I’ve made some strong contributions. 
 

It grates a little having a direct report who joined in the exact same position 6m before me and has a similar amount of experience and he’s clearly ambitious as he’s managed to get a promotion after a year and perhaps sees me as competition as technically I’m a lot stronger than him even though he’s better at the accounting software and excel and has much stronger relationships with the maternity cover and her predecessor and their superior. 
 

Also my job has become stressful and pressured due to my new boss being so hands off and while it does mean I’m getting a lot of responsibility and asked for and been given a new job title which enhances my CV I feel my status has been a bit diminished by the organisational structure changes and if I don’t get anything in the April salary increases I’d have to wait until the following April and in the meantime inflation is running at 10%. And in all honesty I doubt I’ll stay that long as I really didn’t get along with the first boss who’ll be back in Jan. This one at least plays to my strengths and gives me a lot more independence 

Should I raise the issues of not having had a performance review and ask what I should expect in April when salary increases happen? 
 

Should I mention that the organisational structure change seems like a demotion putting me at the bottom and it seems strange to report directly to my colleague when our work streams are so independent and I’m running projects he isn’t involved in and he’s never reviewed any of my work and won’t be going forward either.

Or seeing as I’ll likely be looking to leave in the next 6-12 months better not to rock the boat and hope that eventually I’ll get some recognition and reward and even if not be grateful the experience I’m getting is good for my CV?

 

 

[Wiseman2]

10 minutes ago, jazz_lover said:

 I’d have to wait until the following April and in the meantime inflation is running at 10%. 

If they only give raises once a year in April, you'll have to wait. They're not responsible for the cost of living, so the "10% inflation" is irrelevant. They're only responsible for whatever their yearly review and salary negotiations policy is. 

Keep your CV up to date, in case you find something better. It's great you're doing a good job with good reviews, but if you have to be there a year before a raise is considered, then that's the way they operate.

[jazz_lover]

I don’t know for sure. I haven’t been given a formal year end review. But I had a review when I finished my 3m probation and I’m sure there have been informal discussions between my boss and her superior. And April pay increases would be from end of April so they may still be under review.

So is it worth at least asking the question whether I’m being considered for a pay increase in light of my change in job title (which I asked for and got) which reflects the evolution of my role since joining. Even if the answer is no and it’s simply policy then at least I know it’s nothing personal and a chance for them to say they do value me or provide me with some useful feedback which I didn’t get as I didn’t get the formal review in January 

Otherwise I’d have to wait until next January for a formal review and next April for any pay increase. 

[poorlittlefish]

They can have you report to whoever they like, unfortunately.  As for the promotions/pay rises, in my company nobody can be considered for either of these until they have successfully passed their 6-month probation period.  I missed out on a pay rise because I still had two weeks to go, so I appreciate how that feels.  If your pay hasn't been reduced and you are generally carrying out duties that are commesurate with your job description, then you haven't been demoted.  As your role has evolved and you now have a different title, it could be that they need to update your job description which could affect your salary, so it's worth asking for a job evaluation.

[Batya33]

2 hours ago, poorlittlefish said:

They can have you report to whoever they like, unfortunately.  As for the promotions/pay rises, in my company nobody can be considered for either of these until they have successfully passed their 6-month probation period.  I missed out on a pay rise because I still had two weeks to go, so I appreciate how that feels.  If your pay hasn't been reduced and you are generally carrying out duties that are commesurate with your job description, then you haven't been demoted.  As your role has evolved and you now have a different title, it could be that they need to update your job description which could affect your salary, so it's worth asking for a job evaluation.

I agree with this and also with all the people going on leave etc with temp replacements I'd sit tight for now -may just be growing pains because of all the "labor pains" -in the US maternity leave is around 6-12 weeks -so replacements likely aren't as common -of course some never return - but that's often not known right away.  They're probably dealing with a lot of organizational changes so I'd just ride it out for now . I'm sorry you're frustrated!

[boltnrun]

My opinion is always "it never hurts to ask".  The worst they can say is "no", right?

I got an unexpected raise at 9 months with the company, so unless it's a hard and fast written policy at your company "no raises until a full year", then why not bring it up?  There are tactful ways to do so.  "I feel my work has been valuable and I'm an asset to the company.  Is a salary increase possible in the near future?"

[Lambert]

On 4/1/2023 at 3:05 AM, jazz_lover said:

Or seeing as I’ll likely be looking to leave in the next 6-12 months better not to rock the boat and hope that eventually I’ll get some recognition and reward and even if not be grateful the experience I’m getting is good for my CV?

I'd probably just stay focused on this^^^

I look at this way:

Work for the individual is personal. We put a lot of ourselves into it. We get a lot of self worth from it.

But companies do what's best for companies. restructuring, titles, & labels are all BS. If you didn't get a pay cut, do not create drama in the workplace. It only stresses you, not anyone else. 

I've seen top performer give their notice and leave. Its a shock at first but work carries on. no one person really matters. 

I would continue to do my job and start looking to make a move. 6-12 mos is no time. 

Work on separating your self worth and identity from work. when work pisses me off, I give myself permission to do less. to care less. I'm not saying sabotage the place but don't put yourself out.  No one is doing it for you. 

[Kwothe28]

I dont think its a demotion when your duties and salary stay the same and you even managed to get a new job title. You might argue that its not a promotion, and that your colleagues that joined 6 months before excelled and not you, but its not a demotion. Lots of promotions sadly dont end up on performance but on who can "kiss as" farther. So if you want to excell within company, you would have to work on that too. For example you said you did get a praise from your Boss superior so you could mention it to him/her and see what they suggest. It might help and they might help you achieve it. 

Ofcourse it doesnt really matter if you are looking to move. Then just focus on finding something better overall where you would have better position and/or salary. 

[catfeeder]

7 hours ago, Lambert said:

Work on separating your self worth and identity from work. when work pisses me off, I give myself permission to do less. to care less.

It's funny, because I do this too. Except my self worth kicks in to keep me performing well.

That's less about my identity, and more about my own internal driver that sees nothing worth doing unless I'm giving it a respectable effort in my own view. Otherwise, I'd likely become depressed.

I think this is why I tend to enjoy work regardless of who else notices or rewards me. I create my own private carrots. Small measurements that keep me motivated.

I think work (and life in general) is more fun when I'm not trying to compare myself with anyone else. This doesn't mean play doormat, but when we're less distracted by external calendars and charts, we can focus on learning and performing for the sake of that--and before you know it, you've earned the cachet to ask for what you want without concern for conflict.

 

[Kenny818]

On 4/2/2023 at 8:06 PM, Kwothe28 said:

I dont think its a demotion when your duties and salary stay the same and you even managed to get a new job title. You might argue that its not a promotion, and that your colleagues that joined 6 months before excelled and not you, but its not a demotion. Lots of promotions sadly dont end up on performance but on who can "kiss as" farther.

I would have to agree with this.  On the other hand you can have promotions in name only, where you're doing more work but for the same salary!  

If I were OP, I wouldn't sweat it too much.