Feeling Overlooked: How Should I Address Unfair Salary Increments in My Company?

I am an HR professional in an IT firm. I completed my first year on 2nd March 2017 in this company and was supposed to receive a yearly increment as mentioned in the appointment letter and as per the company policies. During the interview, I was promised an increment after my first 3 months of joining. However, due to the company's financial difficulties, they were unable to fulfill this promise even after several reminders.

When I requested my increment upon completing one year, the company stated during the discussion that they could not raise the salaries of the HR department due to our financial situation. While I understood their position, I couldn't help but notice that other employees, such as developers, were receiving their increments. This discrepancy felt like clear favoritism and unfair treatment.

I am seeking advice on how to address this situation.

Dear Ruchi,

To whom to give a salary increment and by what percentage is at the discretion of the management. Yes, management is expected to promote fairness in day-to-day life. However, this may not be possible for the owners of SMEs.

Now you have two options. One is to continue without grumbling. If the company weathers this crisis and moves on, the management will be obliged to you forever for not abandoning them in their bad days. They will not demonstrate their generosity directly, but they might do it indirectly. I have seen a few cases where staff who worked even without a salary for months were rewarded at a later stage. However, your continuation also comes with risk. This risk is about the sustenance of the enterprise. What if management winds up their business? Will they rehabilitate you?

The second option is to put up a proper application for the annual salary increment. If you do not get any proper reply or if the reply is not satisfactory, then you may tender your resignation. However, before quitting, make sure that you have alternate employment ready.

As far as parity with the operations staff is concerned, this could be far-fetched. In most companies or even industries, operations are given the whip hand, and HR is always treated as a second-rung department.

Sometimes in life, we get confused about the choices. Whether the choice was right or wrong, we come to know as the layers of time unfold!

All the best!

Dinesh Divekar

Hello Dinesh Sir,

Thanks a ton!!!

But why is there partiality between Developers and HR? Are HRs not working properly? I am understanding their situation since the day I joined. I don't even have a problem with it. The issue is the partiality they show, as I know within the coming week, I would be informed about two more increments that need to be made for developers.

Regards,
Ruchi

As Mr. Divekar has rightly explained, "In most companies or industries, operations are given the upper hand, and HR is always treated as a second-tier department."

Here, the developer is the breadwinner of the firm, whereas HR is not. Therefore, the owner will always be more lenient towards developers.