unfair payrise

[inquisitivet]

Hi,
I have worked for my company for about 7 years.
we have just received a payrise. well, some of us did. Some never got a penny and some got a few hundred and some got a few grand. Have the staff got any right to request to know how and who made the decisions on who got what..and have they got any rights to take legal action. as the decisions are extremely unfair and seemed to biased.

also what about verbal promises that never materialised and no written proof.
any advice appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[factor-fiction]

For many years it was customary for most employers to give 'across the board' percentage increases usually a little above the rate of inflation, and give additional increases to people they were most keen to retain. In more recent years employers have moved to very low basic increases plus a performance related element (which is often a flawed system which allows firms to pay as little or as much as they want. In fact some people get a nil or tiny increase. And of course many employers can't afford big pay rises and there will be some AB readers who may not have had a rise for a year.
If there's a union you could ask them. You could ask your manager and make a case for deserving more. But the reality is that if you aren't paid what you think you should get you can leave. There's no right to an good annual increase