Negotiating your pay and benefits?

Normally there is room to negotiate pay and working conditions, except in the public sector, where there are fixed pay scales. Negotiations take place with the head of the department that offered you the job.

In general, wages are expressed in monthly terms, including holiday pay and Christmas bonuses. Other non-statutory benefits need to be negotiated individually. For some jobs, the employer will offer you a fixed minimum remuneration and add a variable remuneration that depends on your performance or results at work. For those jobs where it is common to receive a tip from customers (e.g. guesthouses, hotels, etc.), you are often offered a low mini­mum wage. The tip is considered to be a way of increasing your wage, depending on your own efforts.

Salary negotiations usually take place in the final phase of the recruitment procedure, when the applicant has the opportunity to ask ques­tions. Salary is normally expressed as gross pay, per month or per hour, depending on the type of contract. Do not be afraid to ask for clarification of the exact content of your salary package. An extra 13th or even 14th month's salary may be negotiable within the annual sal­ary. These are not included in the salary adver­tised. Salary negotiations are only possible in the private sector.

If you want to negotiate pay, you need to have salary/wage awareness, as rates can dif­fer from branch to branch and place to place. There is a better chance of negotiating pay with private and smaller employers. In large companies, public or state administrations or budget-dependent institutions, salary scales are generally fixed. Remuneration is expressed in hourly or monthly terms, rarely in annual fig­ures - except for top management positions.

Rules for paid holidays are set out in the labour code but can be modified by agree­ment between the employer and trade unions. In some cases, annual bonuses and conditions can be negotiated, mostly where managers' contracts are involved.

There are standard employment contracts, but the company might use their own. Use the standard contract to make sure that nothing is forgotten in your individual contract. It can be purchased in any bookshop.

It is common to negotiate the salary or work­ing hours, as well as fringe benefits, depend­ing on the level of the job offer. Remuneration may be per hour, week or month, but it is rarely annual. Holiday pay is according to the statu­tory requirement. If there is a bonus system, it should be mentioned separately.

In Finland, contracts are based on collective labour agreements. Almost every field has its own labour agreement. However, pay is some­times negotiable. If it is, this is mentioned in the job advertisement, and candidates are usu­ally asked to indicate their expectations in their application.

Pay is usually expressed in hourly or monthly terms. Holiday pay is based on the statu­tory requirement. In some fields or enterprises (especially in executive positions), you may negotiate annual bonuses, which are likely to be performance-related.

Extra benefits are very common in Finland and include luncheon vouchers, sports and cultural discount vouchers, and occupational health­care. In some companies, you may be supplied with a leased car. Some advantages are nego­tiable. Consult your new superior, who can tell you the right person to negotiate these extra benefits with.

Contract negotiations depend on the com­pany and the sector in which it operates. Apart from fixed payment jobs, pay can be taken to be negotiable. When you start to negotiate, remember that in Germany pay is expressed in hourly or monthly rates. Questions of pay are negotiated by the executive responsible (zustandige Fuhrungskraft).

Besides your pay, you can negotiate extra ben­efits, such as holiday pay and annual bonuses, provided they are not already included in the company's contract.

Salaries and contract length may be negotiated in the interview or after a job offer is made. Ice­landic labour law states that you should have a job contract not later than 2 months after the job starts. The contract should state your sal­ary. There is always room to negotiate your pay. You are entitled to one interview with your employer every year to discuss pay.

The most common point of negotiation is over the monthly salary. If you have a job where you often work overtime, negotiating an hourly rate would be a good idea. Holiday pay and bonuses are fixed, so they do not have to be negotiated.

Financial aspects can be negotiated in some companies, but not in those where employ­ers have agreed on a collective labour agree­ment for pay or where pay is determined by a pay scale.

For white-collar employees or administrative and managerial positions, pay is expressed in monthly rates. Blue-collar wages are expressed in hourly rates. Holiday pay is not standard and annual bonuses depend on the company and the sector. In some cases they are included in collective agreements.

Choose a level of pay that really rewards your abilities. It is important to persuade the employer to reward you for these abilities. You will therefore have to prove the added value that you can provide to the employer once you have been hired. It is not always neces­sary to name figures when asked to state the level of pay you have in mind. Inform yourself in advance about the usual remuneration in the sector or the company. The pay may con­sist of a mix of cash payment and non-stat­utory benefits.

You can negotiate pay, particularly if you have a lot of experience in the job you are apply­ing for. Pay is usually expressed as a weekly or monthly rate. Holiday pay and annual bonuses are included in the remuneration offered.

The staff member who negotiates pay and non-statutory benefits will be the HR manager if it is a large company or the employer himself/ herself if it is a smaller firm.

If the company offers you the job, you can negotiate your salary and probationary period. If you are hired through an intermediate organ­isation, they will probably negotiate your remu­neration request and other conditions and benefits. In the Netherlands, both salary and non-statutory benefits can be negotiated. Think twice about your salary request and make sure it is in accordance with your job.

Different kinds of jobs have different salary scales. These scales are divided into what are known as periodicities. Your experience is used to calculate the scale and periodicity you will be paid. All of this can be negotiated. Remember that voluntary work counts as work experience. For many professions and large companies, working conditions are agreed in collective labour agreements. There is a minimum wage for under-23s and for older people. Earning less than this level is prohibited. Remuneration is expressed on a monthly basis.

Holiday entitlement and the formula for calcu­lating holiday pay are fixed by law. Depending on labour agreements or your age, the amount of holiday entitlement may increase. Bonuses may be negotiated when you start the job and in your annual review. Some collective labour agreements include commitments about profit shares or dividends.

Pay is generally expressed in monthly terms, or for a seasonal job it may be expressed in hourly terms. It is not often necessary to negotiate, as there are standard contracts. However, it may be wise to check the salary level with the trade union responsible for the field so that you have an idea of what to expect. Negotiation of your salary usually takes place once you have been offered the job.

Terms of remuneration are fixed in:

• company agreements or collective bargain­ing agreements (made by the employers with active company trade union organisations);

• pay regulations (in the case of employers with at least 20 employees who are not sub­ject to a company agreement or a collective bargaining agreement); and/or

• employment contracts.

Employees are usually paid per unit of time worked (hour, day or month) or, in some cases, per unit of work completed (piecework). The employee is paid at least once a month, on a fixed pre-arranged date.

Candidates should negotiate their pay with the employer before signing the contract.

Bonuses depend on results achieved. During holiday leave, an employee receives the nor­mal pay agreed on in the employment con­tract. Non-statutory benefits may include meal vouchers, a pension scheme, health insur­ance, a Christmas bonus, a reward for spe­cial achievements and performance, and an encouragement of personal development, especially in the private sector.

Pay is usually expressed on a monthly basis. Remember that in regular employment in Por­tugal, you are paid for 14 months per year (i.e. including holiday pay and Christmas bonuses, usually paid in May/June and November/ December respectively), although this is pres­ently taking other forms following excep­tional measures by the government. If you are recruited by a multinational company, pay may be negotiated as an annual package, including subsidies and other fringe benefits.

Annual productivity bonuses are not common, although there may be scope for a bonus pay­ment at the end of the year depending on prof­its. Only in medium-sized to large companies, mostly multinationals, are annual bonuses well integrated in remuneration policies.

Other benefits might be: improved health insur­ance cover or medical services, in the case of larger companies; and a mobile phone and company car, mostly for senior staff (man­agers and directors), although this practice is declining.

The more qualified the role, the more leeway there is to negotiate the salary. Most employ­ment conditions in Sweden are regulated by collective agreements, with the result that there is little room for individual negotiations, at least for lower skilled jobs.

Pay on a monthly basis is the most common. For management positions there may be scope to negotiate non-statutory benefits; these would be discussed with the HR department.

For jobs in government and with children, proof of good conduct is required. This will be stated in the ad or the employer will inform you.

To negotiate a good contract and working con­ditions, you should be familiar with normal practice in the sector and not be too fussy. In sectors where pay is agreed officially, such as the public and semi-public sectors, there is little room to negotiate.

For minimum and low-wage jobs, it may be possible to agree an increase of about 5-10 % on the company's proposal. For management jobs, it is often the candidate who makes the first proposal on pay. For this to be acceptable, it is important to know the sector and com­pany habits. Remember also that there are big regional differences in pay in Switzerland. In many enterprises, women are paid at least 15 % less than men.

A 13th month's wage is considered a normal part of remuneration. Some companies even offer a 14th month's wage. Bonuses are only given if you achieve your targets.

Pay in Switzerland is quite high but does not include many non-statutory benefits, except for top management jobs. The most common non-statutory benefits that you can nego­tiate are: part of your travel to work may be considered as work time, medical insurance, additional employer contributions to a retire­ment fund and a company car. These ben­efits are negotiable except when they have already been negotiated in general agree­ments between employers' associations and trade unions.

It is unlikely that there is any flexibility with the employer's terms and conditions unless stated in the vacancy advert. The best attitude is to place trust in the employer's offer and to only apply for jobs that offer satisfactory pay and working conditions.

Contract negotiations mostly apply to highly skilled and highly paid jobs. The applicant will need to justify his/her salary demands by demonstrating that they are in accordance with market rates and their skills and experience. You can ask for a pay rise after working for a com­pany for a while, if your pay appears to be out of line with employees doing similar work. You will normally have an annual pay review. Hol­iday pay is included and remuneration is usu­ally expressed as an annual gross salary. Trade jobs, e.g. carpenters and bricklayers, often show wages as hourly.

The most common non-statutory benefits are: flexible working arrangements; private health­care or healthcare insurance; subsidised travel; London weighting (extra pay if working in the capital compared to the national average); use of a company car; subsidised meals at an office canteen; subsidised membership of a gym or club; pay bonuses.