What to do when a company totally misleads you in regards to a salary negotiation issue?

Ouch that is tough. A word to the wise, always get the salary information IN WRITING before you accept any job. Any good company will always procure a letter for you with salary information without you even asking for it. I don’t know what you’re situation is, but if it was me I would probably quit on general principle—then again, maybe that is what they want you to do. So actually I would stick around and start looking for a job in another company, ASAP.

I would start looking for a new job, but meanwhile, if you did not get it in writing, you are screwed regarding the salary issue.

Your previous boss said they accepted your offer, meaning the offer in your email? If he is still working for the company, can’t you and/or “they” (=who, exactly?) ask your old boss to confirm that he did indeed offer you the job on your terms? If you can establish that that is what he meant when he offered you the position, then that is what you should expect to get paid.

It should at least be possible to figure out where the breakdown in communication was—did someone misinform your old boss? Or your new boss? If no one is willing to take responsibility for misleading you, then maybe there is something fishy going on here.

Take it up the chain of command and see if you can sort it out. In the mean time, start pinching pennies, get your resume up to date, and figure out whether you will be eligible for unemployment. If you can’t get this resolved to your satisfaction, then you may indeed want to look for another job, or even just give notice and take your chances. I’ve left jobs for less, but that’s me; you’ll have to decide for yourself whether you want to risk being jobless over this.

That sucks. I guess the lesson is you need in writing next time that your salary requirements were accepted and will be met. Does your old boss admit he told you your salary request would be granted? Or, does he deny not it now.

I assume by your username you are in Kentucky, which I assume is an at will state and they can do whatever the hell they want. Probably you should start looking for a new job, if they will not work with you to get you eventually back to a position you would prefer.

How is their attitude when you talked them? Are they in a tough lucky buddy mode, or do they seem to want to do something to correct the miscommunication?

I am in Northern Kentucky and had no idea that a company would really do something like this especially since it has been around for some 20 years with a good rating. I did talk to a corporate employee regarding the situation in person…the owner apparently refuses to meet with me. This employee basically told me this has never happened before (shocking!) and showed me the email from me that they received specifically stating I would ONLY take this position for the specific salary I demanded but then showed me another email to my new boss stating that the original salary offered was what they would give me (sent a week later). Of course, my NEW boss never told me and the corporate employee said she would deal with that on her own. However, she also told me my old position was no longer available and that she would NEVER have granted the salary I requested. I had asked around previously to find out the salary range of this position and knew what I requested was the high end of the scale but I have considerably more education and experience than what anyone else in this position has so I felt it was well warranted and still below what I actually deserved. The corporate employee basically told me I could continue with the position or she would wish me “good luck” in my future endeavors. I told her I would get back to her and that I felt this was the whole situation was very underhanded. My old boss told me she “assumed” that when they told her they received my email and wanted me to start immediately that they accepted my terms. Of course this left her in a bind as well…since I was leaving w/out any replacement or advanced warning. I feel like they were desperate to fill this new position and did whatever they needed to do in order to make sure that they had someone in it. Now all I have proof of is my original email which doesn’t seem to mean much to them at all.

It sounds like your old boss made the mistake by assuming they were agreeing to the salary you wanted. It sucks, but unfortunately, it sounds like there is nothing you can really do at this point to change your current salary. Could you possibly discuss something with them where they might agree to give you periodic raises to raise your pay level. Worst case scenario they say no, but best case, maybe they’ll be willing to do something to keep you as they see you are good at this new job.

To further clarify…this is a teaching position in a preschool/daycare. My experience with them thus far is that they really don’t care about your qualifications…only if you show up to work. I have a BA degree in elementary education and am currently working on my Masters. I have been a stay at home mom for 8 years and previously to that worked in market research at P&G for almost 10 years…specifically with young families…however this involved alot of traveling. Openings in the public schools are very scarce in this area and I’m finding that without connections that it is very hard to get an interview. I decided to take a position with this company because I wanted to work with children and it was very convenient to where I lived. The pay of course was the lowest I have ever received but I figured the experience would be a bit of a benefit. Then they offered me this new position which seemed enticing to me at the time…the kids were older, they were all of the low socio-economic level (which I always had a passion for), and I would be able to teach the same kids all day (my previous position switched kids all the time on me). However, the hours, the additional time required to plan lessons and set up the classroom on a weekly basis, the behavior issues, and the distance I would have to drive necessitated a higher salary from my viewpoint. The pay I requested is so much lower than what I could get in a public school with my background but I knew what their salary range was and just requested the higher end of the scale. I was more than willing to keep my current position but knew they were desperate to fill this new position so I decided to demand the salary I did. Now I have learned my lesson…grrrr!!!

Ouch. Start looking for a better position. Threaten them with fraud. Submit the information requested that shows why you are worth the money you demand. Hire a lawyer.