Negotiating for pay can be worth it. Here are some recent examples.
A leading body agreed to pay an Information Officer a salary at the top, rather than at the lower end of the scale, as it had originally intended. This was because the candidate had pointed out that the post involved working a 40-hour week, rather than the more usual 35 hours. The difference in pay was £5000.
A Library Assistant increased her starting salary with an arts organisation by £2000, through negotiating a shift allowance for evening work. Free tickets and discounts were also included. Neither the shift allowance nor the discounts were mentioned in the original advertisement.
A small commercial arts organisation paid the top rate to a Chartered Librarian, with a good, stable work history, rather than choosing an experienced but unqualified candidate, who would have been paid at a lower rate.
A temporary worker in a public library received a pay increase, when it was pointed out that a more recently appointed temp was being paid at a higher rate. This was because the results of a recent pay review had not yet been extended to existing temporary workers.
Updated: 13 August 2004