Offer LetterTook a new job with a new company back in October...Went through the entire interview process...3 different interviews..one with a recruiter at home office then one with the Human Resources for the district then one with the District Mgr and the HR representative. I'm a retail Mgr...During all three interviews the topic of travel came up...it was clear I would drive 1 hour from my home or 55 miles. Now that I am about to be placed the drive may be an Hour and a Half...or 75 miles One way. Also I agreed upon the salary of 65k annually...that has not changed yet the bonus structure as stated in my "offer letter" that had to be signed back in September stated that it was 25% of MY base pay roughly 16k...potentially I understand...Yet the 25% is of the total stores payout generally around $1400 a considerable difference.. I am very unhappy but semi unwilling to change jobs again for the fact I would rather not pay back a "signing bonus. Do I have a right to ask for a Salary increase based on the Drive and Bonus structure do to the fact it is not what is stated in my offer letter or what was verbally agreed upon as far as the drive?
Thanks A couple of questions. First, did the bonus structure change for all managers, or just for you? If its' a case of everyone's bonus changed, I don't think you have much to work with. In my experience, written bonus plans always contain verbiage that they are subject to change at the discretion of the company. Second, was the agreement on your commute time in writing, or just a verbal? If it was verbal, again I would say that you probably don't have a lot to work with, as any verbal agreement is very difficult to enforce, and subject to how well the parties may remember the conversation. Depending upon your relationship with your DM you might still approach him/her on the subject, but I would expect that you will be told that they have done their best to accommodate you, keeping in mind that an opening has to exist for you to be placed. Good luck! I think about all you can do is call whomever it was that negotiated your salary package, and tactfully ask for clarification. As in, "There appears to be some discrepancies between my current package and what was agreed upon last September...." Then ask to review the discrepancies, point by point. However, I doubt you will have much to quibble about regarding the distance of your commute, and I would bring that up only after a discussion of the bonus plan. Your package was offered quite some time ago, and if the opening 55 miles away that they thought would be available isn't, there's not a lot you can do about it. I suppose you could say something to the effect that you accepted the compensation package under the assumption your commute would be approximately XX miles, but that the added mileage and time will put more of a financial burden on you. Ordinarily I would say it isn't the employer's problem whatsoever how far you have to commute, but that's when you take a job knowing full well what that commute wil be, or if you voluntarily move further away from your place of employment. Given the change in circumstances that was dictated soley by the employer, without prior notice to you, I tend to feel that you can at least legitimately bring this issue up. But, in lieu of a written agreement, you probably cannot do anything about it. And, remember, an offer letter is not the same as an employment contract. I agree with Anna Marie - again. You can ask for some clarification of the differences between what you were told and what's actually happened, but you can't base any request for an adjustment on how far the commute is or on the bonus structure. You can ask about the difference between what you were told and what actually happened and see what sort of response you get, but asking for more money because it takes longer to get there and back and on a different bonus plan probable won't fly now. An offer letter is just a statement of the terms of employment, but it's not an "employment contract" the terms of which are binding on both parties. It probably would have been better to ask the minute it was clear that reality didn't match what was in the offer letter. Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert | |
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