TikToker @cyberspacekelly, also known as Kells, was shocked to find that her promotion came with a pay cut. In a recent video, she claims her HR department said they had overpaid her when they hired her, and the “mistake” was corrected when she was promoted. Even though she now has more work responsibilities, her pay decreased by two dollars an hour. “I live paycheck-to-paycheck, nonetheless, in Boston, so it’s extremely hard and I feel like I need a second job now,” Kells said. According to her video comments, she’s not the only one with this problem. “Promotion with a pay decrease is happening to me rn, And I’m trying so hard to keep it together,” one viewer wrote.
According to Kells, her manager messaged her on Teams after she earned her promotion, letting her know that HR had made a mistake when the company first hired her.
“She was like, ‘Yeah, so they actually weren’t supposed to give you that much when you first got hired.’ I was like ‘How’s that my problem?’”
Apparently, the manager notified HR of their mistake when she submitted the request to promote her. Kells explains that instead of accepting their mistake, HR corrected their error by decreasing her pay by two dollars an hour. As an “hourly full time worker” who doesn’t “get paid that much to begin with,” Kells found herself struggling more than if she’d been kept in her previous role.
“I live paycheck-to-paycheck, nonetheless, in Boston, so it’s extremely hard and I feel like I need a second job now,” Kells concluded.
Photo: Arturas Morozovas / Getty Images News / Getty Images