Returning from maternity leave and sales commission

Anonymous

May 28,2023 at 7:38PM UTC

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Returning from maternity leave and sales commission

I live in Ireland and have just returned to work after 9 month’s maternity leave which is standard here. I am a sales operations manager working for a sales VP and 25% of my salary is based on sales commission and what the global team make. It is now the 4th quarter in my company’s fiscal year which is the most lucrative and the team are on track to do the best quarter yet. Instead of assigning me a prorated quota for Q4, he told me he would pay out 100% and cap me at that. So while I appreciate that I’ll be paid 100%, I don’t have an opportunity to exceed that. Fair or not?

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AnonymousMay 28,2023 at 9:58PM UTC
I see this as fair as you have not had time to contribute to the momentum of your group's business which will most likely exceed their goal.
AnonymousMay 29,2023 at 12:21PM UTC
Fair as you have not contributed to the past 9 (likely more) months of sales and I think it’s incredibly generous of your manager to give you 100%
AnonymousMay 29,2023 at 12:33PM UTC
Fair.
AnonymousMay 29,2023 at 12:52PM UTC
you said itr yourself, you were not there for 9 months, even if you help them in those 3 months , you did not help out for the rest of the year. even iof this was your best quarter,, you still got a part of the 9 months you were not there. i think its fair. also you don't mention if you guys regularly go over 100 ,,, and f the amount is substanial...and i realize its kinda personal... but as far as i know , maternity leave if never payed by the employer, there is ALWAYS a pay cut. i got 80% of my salary when on mat leave. not 100.
AnonymousMay 29,2023 at 2:19PM UTC
More than fair, you should be grateful.
Joann S. LublinMay 29,2023 at 2:20PM UTC
I agree it's a fair arrangement but I also see why you wish you could have had an opportunity exceed 100% since you came back while fourth quarter is underway. If you've never been paid more than 100% for exceeding your quota, I suggest you propose being eligible for that during the next fiscal year's first quarter -- and then work extra hard to earn it! (You also can check out smart pay negotiating strategies in my book, "Earning It,'' published in 2016. Good luck.
AnonymousMay 29,2023 at 4:53PM UTC
Very fair.
Melissa NobileMay 29,2023 at 5:23PM UTC
Absolutely fair.
AnonymousMay 30,2023 at 1:29AM UTC
I'd say fair as you've out for 9 months and didn't contribute directly to the company's success. For future reference you should make sure to have clearly in writing what they will and won't pay should you go out again so there's no question in the future. Congratulations on your new baby!
Heather BinghamMay 30,2023 at 12:30PM UTC
I think that's fair, yes. A lot of less responsible organisations would find a weaselly way to cheat returning mothers out of as much commission as they possibly could, because they weren't actually there to influence the numbers. They sound like very reasonable employers.
Nancy StancilMay 30,2023 at 1:02PM UTC
Take this as a win.
Nirupama RaghavanMay 30,2023 at 1:05PM UTC
I think it's fair. However, if what you help generate in Q4 far exceeds what was generated in Q1-3 without you + what was planned for Q4, there may be some opportunity for negotiation.
John HerndonMay 30,2023 at 1:09PM UTC
Fair, don’t be greedy
AnonymousMay 30,2023 at 1:42PM UTC
This information should have been in the comp plan. 100% payout sounds great, even though you may likely have influenced outcomes in Q1-3 by putting in place sales strategies, contracts, etc.
AnonymousJune 1,2023 at 2:49AM UTC
Very generous given your abbreviated participation and the fact that your team has been working to build the momentum towards this 4th quarter success for the past 3 quarters.