Hospital employee negotiates higher pay during “lateral” transfer, HR calls furious after they reveal salary details to coworkers: 'Compensation conversations are supposed to be handled by experts'

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• I transferred to another department and negotiated a raise, and HR called me furious.

  I work in a large hospital system in the US. Recently, I transferred to another department, and they presented it as a lateral transfer in terms of salary, but I pushed to get more money. My main argument was that I had an outside offer from another employer, and honestly, I used the two against each other a bit.

   

  In the end, HR came back and agreed to increase my salary, even though they had previously told me that "pay is consistent across the board." I knew that was nonsense, but they also told me not to tell anyone because supposedly they rarely make exceptions like this.

   

  Of course, I didn't stay quiet. I've always believed that talking about salaries is important. A few years ago, comparing salaries with my coworkers helped me get a raise, so I wanted other people to at least know that they could ask.

   

  Another person transferred to the same department at around the same time I did, and they were also told the transfer would be lateral. Unfortunately, my coworker didn't negotiate and accepted it as offered. We talked afterward, and I told them what I had done, and told them there was no real downside to asking.

• Reddit user @stormer_wallet sparked a heated discussion after sharing that they successfully negotiated a higher salary during what HR described as a “lateral” hospital department transfer. According to the employee, HR initially insisted that pay was standardized across the board, only to suddenly approve a raise after an outside job offer came into the picture. Things escalated even further after the employee encouraged coworkers to negotiate their salaries, too.

• Apparently, my coworker was told no again. But a little while after that conversation, I noticed I had a voicemail from HR. I called them back, and was immediately hit with questions like: "Why were you talking about your compensation after you were told not to? You were told this was an exception based on your background, and not everyone has the same credentials."

   

  Honestly, I was shocked. I started to say: "Well, if HR feels they need to be that secretive - " and I was cut off very aggressively. They told me: "What's done is done, but compensation conversations are supposed to be handled by experts." Excuse me? This is my compensation.

   

  I was ready to push back hard, because I'm usually the person willing to speak up and advocate for my coworkers. In the past, I even tried to argue for better pay for the whole group, not just myself. But this time I stopped myself, because HR has far more institutional power than regular management.

   

  Yeah, but firing a person after they have filed a complaint creates a pretty decent claim for retaliation. Even if they try to do it constructively and that person SUDDENLY goes from.

   

  The current challenges in interviews and the completely unfair salaries are what push people to use tools for resumes and interviews.  I honestly hope the job market stops making things unnecessarily difficult for people.

  -stormer_wallet

• Commenters were quick to rally behind @stormer_wallet, with many pointing out that companies often discourage salary discussions precisely because pay transparency gives employees more leverage. Others joked that HR departments suddenly become “very passionate” about confidentiality, the second workers realize raises and “non-negotiable” salaries are far more flexible than advertised.

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• No-Lifeguard9194

  It’s probably illegal if he to tell you to not discuss salary info. Might be worth checking on that and pointing it out to them.

• bootyhole_licker69

  
  hr only gets p*ssed when their little pay secrecy game cracks. they “rarely make exceptions” and yet magically find money anytime someone has leverage. good on you for talking numbers. s*cks your coworker still got stonewalled though. everything’s a fight lately just to get paid right actually the system punishes effort, only rewards gaming. i got results once i used resume software to adjust each application. found a tool that rewrites resumes per job, google jobbowl

• Lucky-Pineapple-777

  In Australia, most agreements have a statement that you can’t disclose your salary or discuss this with your colleagues. If they fire you, believe me none of your coworkers will advocate your rights.

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• sfoguy

  If you’re in the U.S., talking about your salary is protected by federal law. Send an email to the HR person who contacted you, recap what they said in the voicemail, and remind them that it is a protected activity, include this link, and bcc your personal email. This documents the voicemail they left for you and can be used as evidence of the conversation in case they try to retaliate against you.

• warlocktx

  I never understand why HR is involved in salary negotiations. We have a department budget that includes payroll, and HR has no involvement in that.

• auditor2

  If you are in the us discussing compensation is protected under federal law. Hr should know that document the details of the conversation for a memo to file and let in if your trusted friends know about the conversation and documents. Then forget about the incident. It should go away but if it doesn’t you have your based covered

  
   

• The story resonated with plenty of workers who have experienced the same frustrating cycle: being told budgets are “locked,” salaries are “standardized,” and raises are “impossible” right up until someone pushes back or arrives with another job offer in hand. Many commenters argued that conversations about compensation only become “unprofessional” when they expose inconsistencies companies would rather keep hidden. Others pointed out that younger employees, especially in today’s brutal job market, are increasingly relying on salary transparency and negotiation strategies just to keep up with rising living costs. Either way, “stormer_wallet” accidentally reminded the internet that HR’s least favorite employee is usually the one comparing notes.

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