Negotiation Advice for Activity outside Scope of Regular Employment

Lshiggaz on 21/03/2023 - 00:14
Last edited 21/03/2023 - 09:44 by 1 other user

Hi OzBargain community, I thought I'd seek your advice on this as I'm not sure what to do.

I was asked if I was interested in performing extra duties at work (in a backup capacity) at work and said yes. Since then I have been undertaking training to become qualified.

Currently there is only one person who performs this task as a contractor with an exceptionally high day rate. Training me is a diversification of risk for the business and I'm worried that once I'm qualified there would be no reason to use the contractor due to their cost. Considering I'm equally qualified but employed full time by the business (as opposed to being a casual contractor), I'm not sure how to negotiate a good rate for myself here and also make sure that I remain the backup choice as I don't want this to take over my current role.

I think there has to be a similar financial outlay for the business to use me otherwise it's a no brainer to recruit me every time. How do I go about asking for the sweet day rate without risking my employment?

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  localhost on 21/03/2023 - 00:28

  Just told them: 20% lower than contract rate or you are not interested in that position.
  That's why it's called job market. You sell your skills. Now you have new skill which costs more. Simple.

  Now you are employed but for different position and without pay rise you can stay there.

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  PensionerXXL on 21/03/2023 - 00:57

  its not all about money, you can ask for flexibility or train a second person then split the duties and come up with a roster….
  if you are receiving training from the contractor they likely know sfa about the position, how long tasks should take etc so if they do slot you in there you could carve out something nice for yourself

  if you get a better job title out of it, and cruise through 1 - 3 years of work you could leapfrog into bigger and better things elsewhere

  one thing to consider with the contractor anything that goes wrong they have a scapegoat, now thats you so if you make a case for more money you also seal yourself in if it all comes crashing down

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  AustriaBargain on 21/03/2023 - 01:28

  +3

  If they make $200 an hour, but only contract three hours a day, and they have to pay their own insurance, don't get super, don't get leave, then how does it really compare?

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  jar-unit on 21/03/2023 - 09:40

  +3

  Finish the training and work in it for a while to show you can do it / are indispensible - then negotiate or seek outside opportunities

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  djsweet on 21/03/2023 - 10:01

  +3

  Why would your work pay for you to become qualified if they weren't expecting you to eventually take on those responsibilities? Its either a strategic play by the company to get rid of their dependency on the contractor, or they're just throwing money down the drain.

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  pharkurnell on 21/03/2023 - 10:13

  Before you do anything finish the training, do the job for few months to see if you like it - or if the business is happy with you or they might just (profanity) you once you ask for more sovs.

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  Seraphin7 on 21/03/2023 - 10:14

  +1

  The business is upskilling you to provide them with enhanced business outcomes. This may be (1) they want to move the contractor on, (2) they want to mitigate some of the risk of what appears to be a single person risk, (3) they wish to limit the potential increased costs from the contractor (by having more than one person that can do the work), or some combination of these three items, possibly amongst others.

  From your perspective, this creates value by (1) making you more useful to the business and therefore less likely to be given the heave ho if and when that comes around, (2) the potential to demonstrate these new skills and value to the business, thereby presenting an argument for changes in remuneration, (3) potentially increased value in the market place if and when you choose to leave that employer, or some combination of these three items, possibly amongst others.

  You need to find the right "equilibrium" between those factors and negotiate accordingly. What this might mean in terms of a percentage increase in your remuneration now is speculative depending on those factors.

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  freefall101 on 21/03/2023 - 11:15

  I'm not sure how to negotiate a good rate for myself here and also make sure that I remain the backup choice as I don't want this to take over my current role.

  Ask them to pay you for higher duties when conducting this work. However I don't think you'll get far trying to get paid more while keeping your current role, you need to take the new role

  How do I go about asking for the sweet day rate without risking my employment?

  You can't, that's why day rates are so high. They'll off the contractor as soon as they think you're ready and negotiate higher pay then, but they won't want to put you on a day rate.

  Also think hard about what goes into that day rate. No leave, no super, no job security. Great right now when the market itself is providing job security but can suck in a year or two.

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  tsunamisurfer on 21/03/2023 - 11:42

  Per above learn the skills, increase your value by demonstrating the ability to do the extra work.

  If that work becomes more of your daily activities then document it and start asking for more at review.

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  Drakesy on 21/03/2023 - 11:45

  Lets not forget the contractor
  a) doesn't get sick or annual leave
  b) usually super is lumped in with their day rate
  c) is only there temporarily/can be let go with 24 hours notice.

  These things combined generally result in the contractor getting some 30% more than the average worker.

  The only time you'll have leverage is once you have the skill set AND have a competing job offer, just having the skill set alone won't be enough to force them to up your wage.