Feeling undervalued

Have a word with your employer? Seems unfair especially if you are expected to do the training. Salt and wounds come to mind but try not to feel bitter because it will spoil your retirement.

I think its fair enough to enquire if the Job Description is substantially different from the one you had. I have always reviewed the JD of anyone leaving as well as the structure to see if the needs of the organisation have changed and the post needs to be changed to fit. It probably has nothing to do with your performance or your value to your employer just changing times. Try not to let it spoil your enjoyment of a well earned retirement - I expect many of us could look back to our old jobs and find them substantially changed or gone forever.

I think it is difficult without knowing the exact circumstances and the relationship you have with your employer.

My mother was in a very similar situation to you -although it was 20 years ago, and she didn't know what her successor was being paid. However, on her retirement, her employer (who by this time was a family friend) said that getting a replacement had made him realise how much my mother had been worth, and they gave her a 'retirement bonus' of some thousands.

I also know that my mother took pride in 'training up' her successor 'properly' and left feeling that her work was completed to her satisfaction. If you leave early, would you feel rather dissatisfied, or glad to be gone?

I don't know how likely you are to get a bonus / gift, and whether if you wait to see, you might miss the boat. What I do think is that you either have a proper word with your employer (or other suitable person in the business) or say nothing and smile.

Nana05 Much the same happened to me in my last job, and I didn't say a word, just fumed inwardly, and refused to go back on a voluntary basis (Employer was in the voluntary sector) to help the new, much better paid, worker, or cover for her when she was on long term sick leave. The organisation folded, bankrupt, within a year.

This was 13 years ago and still rankles. I blame myself that I was treated like a mug. How I wish that I had pressed harder at the time, pushed my preferred option of going part-time with the rest of my salary used to employ a clerical assistant. But I was stressed out, left in a huff.

Don't let this resentment fester - have a full and frank discussion with your Boss or if that is impossible put your feelings into a formal letter. Clear the air now, don't let this spoil your hard won retirement.

My late mum used to have a saying something on the lines of "they only flog a willing horse" meaning that often the more you do (whether in work or whatever) the more they want from you and the more you are expected to give. I think this is so true and I often experience it myself.

I know I am in a very different position to you Nana05 but there is no way my company could pay anyone, anywhere near the going rate to do my job, they just couldn't afford to. I think your employer is perhaps in for a shock when he finds out what you really did for your money because I can bet my life on the fact that your replacement won't be anywhere near as efficient or willing as you were.

Personally and just to put your own mind at rest I would approach your employer and tell him/her that you were shocked to hear how much more your replacement will be getting. Ask what you did wrong or didn't do well enough that made your job role so undervalued. Who knows you might get a nice leaving gift? I guess this sort of thing happens all the time .

Don't let it fester. Look forward to your retirement. Christmas is a great time to be retiring because on Jan2 you will be able to lie in bed knowing that those who still have to work will be dragging themselves out into the cold to fight the traffic and after a long day they'll have to fight the traffic to get home. I'm wicked but I hope it snows where you live on Jan 2 so that you can enjoy being snuggled up in bed knowing you don't have to fight your way through the cold, white, wet stuff.

I think I would mention it in a low key way to your employer.

I remember doing a job in my spare time as clerk to a school governing body - I felt it was a worthwhile thing to do for the village. I then discovered that the previous person had been paid TWICE as much as I was being paid. I was not in it for the money, and would have been happy to do it voluntarily, so the pay was not an issue - but the principle was! They said that the previous person had been paid too much by mistake! - her personal relationship with the chair of govs was not mentioned! I told them it was an insult and I would rather do it for nothing.

Thank you all for your replies they have helped tremendously and have made me feel better

When I retired I did some teaching with the local English Language unit. Some of the work was paid, and I also visited a Bangladeshi housewife to work with her on a voluntary basis. However, I was expected to jump through the same recording and form-filling hoops as I had to in my paid work which I considered unfair. Personal circumstances meant that it was inconvenient for me to continue, so I never took it up with the management, but I can't imagine that much has changed.

I guess that your salary has not kept up with current levels. This is not unusual, especially if rises are not incremental. I would certainly talk to your employer and if you are not happy with the outcome you could always leave earlier, if that fits in with what your want to do. Perhaps you could also ask about gradually reducing your hours (same pay) and then you could have a more gently approach to your retirement. Might make you fell better too.

I am very much of the view that we are responsible for our own career.

So as a professional woman you should have been keeping track of the going rate for your position, and then lobbied for a pay rise if under paid.

Something else to consider is that perhaps this person is better qualified than you.

I felt really down and depressed when taking on my last job in a new part of the country some twenty one years ago; I just could not get through the work in the time and left hours late every day, feeling pretty useless. Then someone kindly told me that my predecessor had been a grade higher, had less tasks to perform, and worked an additional two hours a day to my contract. They are a crafty lot at times, employers!
I spoke up and asked for the extra hours and an upgrading, which was given without a murmur - in fact one of the senior people said something like 'Why were we expecting this person to get though so much in the time ?' That made me feel so much better, and I'm sure that if you talk to someone now and ask the questions you want to you have nothing to lose and much to gain - you too might get a better leaving arrangement, but if nothing else you will feel that you have said your piece. Incidentally my successor, I discovered while training her, was a grade lower, working an extra hour a day, and earning a third less than me. I told her that on the last day - hoping she too would be fired up to press for a fair situation.

Might be worth having a word with HR to ask if, in view of the difference in salary, the job description of the new emplpoyee differs and if so, to what degree ? you are asking as you have heard (how did you hear ? was your job advertised in the press/online/job centre ?) that the new salary is more than you were getting ....you can ask with a smile but indicate your unhappiness ! Hopefully you may find you are given a handshake when you leave, or maybe an annuity ...you could ask what retirement package you are likelyto receive (tongue in cheek if you like !)

I had to laugh once, although a temp job, I had been doing it for 2 years and had been offered the job full time by 2 of the directors I was responsible to, but the GM decided he wanted someone younger (and more attractive !) as they intended to make her into a receptionist as well !!!! I worked full time for three demanding people .......BUT a few weeks after I left I met a former colleague who told me the replacement could not a) use the computer (essential, I would have thought !) b) handle the phone (? what is there to do handling a phone !?) or type as she had no qualification (so they checked this or just literally, took her on face value ?) ....SO they had then had to employ someone else to do the typing ! I had to laugh !

Don't feel undervalued, for whatever reason that job has suited you well for a long time.

There is more to life than money.

When i retired after over 25 years as a headteacher ...i found that my replacement head....new to headship ... was starting at the salary i retired on ... due to the required differential between the heads salary and that of the highest paid deputy....
There was nothing to do or say about it... but i still feel a bit cheesed off i hadn't asked for a massive pay rise before my retirement ... as the budget was very tight...

When my family moved to Canada my mother left her bookkeeping job and learnt that two people were being taken on to replace her and they were both being paid more. She was very upset. In those days (the 60s) it was much more accepted that men got paid more and she wasn't good at standing up for herself but it was very unfair.
I think it is probably inevitable that the next person was going to get a higher salary but it is unfair if the difference is substantial.
Training is fine if you are training her how to carry out her job for that particular company but a bit much if you are expected to actually train her to do the job.
It is not your replacements fault though so it would be a bit unkind not to train her but no harm in asking for a rise for the last three months.
As others have said though, you have your retirement to look forward to so try not to let it spoil that. I have been much happier in retirement than I was in work so I hope you are too, although it did take me a while to get used to it and not to feel that I should be going out and doing something purposeful every day (which usually resulted in me ending up at the shops).

Are you in a union?

It is sad that your last week's are going to be spoiled after all this time.

Almost the same thing happened to my husband,when he retired. He took 20 years to build up to his salary. He turned around his department and so impressed his bosses that he was asked to travel the world, setting up the same system in other offices.

When he was asked to recruit and train a replacement, he was quite happy to do so until he saw the salary being offered. He decided to go before they got to the interview stage. He never regretted it. He knew it was not the replacement employees fault. He also knew that he would not be able to hide his resentment.

Maybe I have a little gremlin in me trying to escape but.... You could always cock up the training, or just leave early... What do you have nothing to lose.

I wonder if you would have received a pay rise had you been staying in the job?....and how did they decide on the rate of pay for your replacement. Whether or not you are working for a very small company without an HR department or if it was your employer who decided on the new persons salary is interesting how this came about. Obviously you don"t want to leave feeling full of resentment but on the other hand have they been underpaying you for some time. If you have an HR department you could ask to speak to someone about this....maybe the new persons role will extend after a while justifying the increase. Otherwise you could speak directly to your boss as you have been there since the beginning and helped the company to grow. It might put him on the back foot when he realises that you now know your replacements salary....who knows! On the other hand they may have a lovely big bonus lined up for you as a surprise when you leave. Only you can decide whether to speak up or not. Whatever you do..don,t let it take the shine of your retirement.

I worked for a really rotten boss who expected the girl he was planning to sack to train me up before he got rid of her. When we fell out about a year later, I saw the writing on the wall when he tried to force me into training my successor, so I just warned him and gave notice the same day. Hope he got the message - wouldn't wish that company or boss on my worst enemy and he was a really nice lad, but I suspect he was expecting more money than I got. He could dream!

It depends on your contract of employment regarding the terms of your salary, leaving dates etc.

The replacement may have negotiated a different salary to you depending on the new contract of employment and duties expected.

It's comonplace to expect existing employees to train up new ones despite salary or company position differences.

You could, of course, negotiate a higher salary for training up purposes yourself. Give it a go!

p.s. I get how you feel nevertheless xx

Agree with much of the above.
Definitely, don't let it spoil your retirement but definitely mention it to your boss and ask why. (job description etc)
Might they give you a lump sum to leave with to make up for it a bit?