Can a company pay me less during the three-month probation period?

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I received a job offer for a role that I want, but they’re only giving me the salary I requested after a three-month probation period. Prior to that, my salary is only 75 per cent of what I asked for. I think they should be giving me my desired salary from the beginning. I’m worried it’s a bad sign of the company culture, but then again, it’s only for three months and everything else about the job is great. Is this a common practice? Should I just turn down the job? What’s the best way to ask for my desired salary from day one?
Frank Li, associate professor of finance, Ivey Business School at Western University, London, Ont.
A lower pay in the probation period is not uncommon in most countries including Canada, and in many industries such as North America’s major sports leagues.
Whether the practice is fair and whether it signals a bad firm culture depends on several considerations.
First, how much value can you bring to the company during this period? A lower salary is fair if the probation is mostly for training and (even better) if the training increases your market value. Apprentices had to pay to work in master painters’ studios. Leonardo da Vinci became a paid collaborator of his teacher after nine years of apprenticeship.
Second, is it a transparent and consistent company policy for everyone? Transparency about the compensation structure during and after probation mitigates concerns about fairness and enhances mutual trust.
Third, do you aspire to achieve your goals with the company in the long run? Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 after being ousted from the company he co-founded. During his probation period, he received a symbolic $1 salary, which showed his commitment to turning the struggling company around.
Based on your answers above, if you feel your salary is not fair, approach negotiation professionally. Justify your requests based on your research on industry norms, company policy and most importantly your value to the company that ultimately determines your negotiating power.
Some follow-ups to the above stories:
Mr. Da Vinci’s teacher, Andrea del Verrocchio, eventually gave up painting and only worked as a sculptor because he knew Mr. da Vinci could do a much better job. Steve Jobs’ probation ended in 2000 when he became the chief executive officer and soon turned Apple into the most valuable company in the world.
I hope you graduate from probation successfully, like Mr. Jobs and Mr. da Vinci.
Courtney Lee, vice-president of people, Humi, Toronto
It’s important for an employee to understand a company’s compensation philosophy. If a candidate/employee understands why and how a company determines compensation, it’s much easier to assess equitability and alignment with their own values.
It’s also important to recognize that there is a difference between what someone wants as their salary and what the company believes to be an equitable offer based on their compensation philosophy. For example, if you’re requesting a salary that’s too high based on the company’s compensation framework, it’s reasonable for the company to present an offer that’s less than your desired salary. If that’s the case, and the company has agreed to revisit your salary after an assessment period to determine if you truly operate at a higher level than similarly paid internal peers, that’s reasonable. The company is simply trying to ensure that everyone is paid in alignment with their framework.
However, if the appropriate salary for the role is what you had requested, it’s definitely not okay to discount it during the probationary period. While it’s common knowledge that an employee is likely to spend their first few weeks or months ramping up to full productivity, it’s extremely short-sighted for an employer to reduce salaries during this period. The company will likely struggle with recruiting (who wants to leave another job for a temporarily reduced salary?) and it’s indicative of a culture that views employees as extremely transactional – penny-wise but pound-foolish.
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