You interview for a job with the VP of a company. They make an offer and say with clear regret that there’s not much flexibility with the salary. You are disappointed but accept the job. They say they will send out a formal offer in writing.
A few days later, you get the formal offer. It comes from the president, not the VP. It’s attached to an email that is also cc’ed to the VP and the personnel department. The salary listed is $20,000 higher than the negotiation settled on. You have no way of knowing if it’s a mistake. They want you to confirm you want the job per the terms laid out in the letter.
Should you speak up, either ethically or politically?
I personally don’t see any ethical obligation to speak up as well. In the US they aren’t bound to stick to the salary in the formal offer letter. The company can change the salary a week later or even fire you if they want to.
If you were to accept their offer and then they called you later to say there was some confusion about the offer letter, then it just re-opens the negotiation of your salary. I would say they are in a worse position since they offered you a higher amount in their official offer letter.
Right. The company has no legal obligation to pay you the amount in the offer letter, if they decide they don’t want to. They can cut your pay any time they like, the only thing they can’t legally do is cut your pay for hours you’ve already worked. Your boss can come to you tomorrow and say your paycheck has been cut by 50%, and if you don’t like it you’re free to leave. Just like you’re free to walk into the boss’s office and demand a raise, and if you don’t get one you’re going to quit.
I base ethics on harm potential. As far as I can see, the only potential harm here is to the VP’s pride due to being wrong during the interview, if s/he even remembers what number s/he told you and didn’t in fact find the extra $20,000 on your behalf. That’s pretty minimal harm. Pretty much nonexistent harm. I wouldn’t say a thing except, “Yes, please!”
If the VP comes to you embarrassed, which they probably won’t, I’d just play it off like they did you a solid and quickly move on. “Hey, I was so pleased to read the offer letter and see the firm found something in line with my salary expectations! Great to work for a company that takes care of its employees. Can I get you a coffee?”
I might bring it up to avoid a situation where actual pay turns out to be, say, verbal offer minus $10k. They could very well say the offer letter was obviously an error and will not be honored, and then you have nothing to document the verbal offer.
But that’s a self-protection move, nothing to do with ethics. I see nothing ethically wrong with taking the offer as-is and waiting to see what happens on the first paycheck.