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EP Leigh reports: <<Recently my manager told me she had to submit job titles
based on descriptions that were given to her by HR. This is because our
company is going through a salary audit. She told me that because I don't
have a bachelors degree, I am being demoted to a Junior Technical Writer. I
have been working at my current job for nearly four years. Three and a half
of those years I have had the title of Technical Writer. I have the most
seniority of anyone in my department. I have been seeking a degree for some
time and I am a junior, but being employed full-time does not allow me to
take as many classes as I would like.>>
Sounds like your manager misinterpreted something about the HR rules; most
ads that I've seen say "degree in X or equivalent experience", and it's
likely that your manager missed the "or equivalent experience" part of the
statement. Moreover, while degree requirements are often imposed
retroactively to affect _future_ promotions, I haven't often heard about
them being used to demote employees. In any event, there's no excuse
whatsoever to demote you unless your performance has slipped and no reason
for you to simply accept this decision; talk to HR and get them to ask for
an exception in your case. If they go all bureaucratic on you and refuse to
discuss things, go over their heads and talk to a senior manager--it would
be more politically astute if you ask your manager to do this work for you
(among other things, it's more likely to succeed and it'll tell you whether
she really likes you and is willing to stick up for your rights), but if
it's a question of losing your status and the manager refuses to help, I'd
consider going over her head anyway. You won't make any points this way, and
_will_ undermine your relationship with her, but this demotion is probably a
strong hint that you may want to take your talents elsewhere. It's also
_wrong_, and shouldn't go unchallenged.
Since it always helps to have some ammunition on your side, you can do a few
things to strengthen your case. First, point out that you _are_ working on
your degree, and ask for an extension on the deadline for the job audit;
they might be perfectly happy to agree to look the other way (based on your
academic transcript), since you'll certainly have the degree in a year or
two. Second, point out that it's hard to have a life and a full-time job and
still get a degree, and that many companies invest in their employees'
future by giving them an hour or three per week to work on degrees or other
education; my company does this, and they also pay for the degree. (No,
they're not hiring. Sorry!) Third, if you really feel you're being shafted
(and you are) and are willing to risk burning your bridges behind you, you
can seek legal advice; the lawyer community in most big cities (including
suburbs such as Pointe-Claire, where I live) offers a service of some sort
that offers free, pro bono legal advice. (Here, it's 30 minutes once per
year, and possibly more if you demonstrate that you really can't afford a
lawyer.) I'd be surprised if you don't have a strong case, and mentioning
"lawyer" to a manager gives them an awfully strong incentive to work with
you to resolve the situation peacefully. Of course, as I noted, this action
burns your bridges behind you: it _won't_ make the company love you, _will_
poison your record with them (particularly if you win the case), and _may_
come back to haunt you if you ever need to ask them for references. But it's
certainly a valid strategy.
All this being said, prepare yourself to lose. To me, the really scary thing
about Dilbert is that the boneheaded, heedless, power-mad managers featured
in this comic are all based on real people.
--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
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