red-circling

Definition

Marking employees whose pay exceeds the maximum for their grade or band, typically freezing their raises until the range catches up. It's being punished for making too much money, bureaucracy-style.

Example Usage

When the company restructured pay bands, several long-tenured employees found themselves red-circled and ineligible for merit increases.

Origin

From the practice of circling outlier data points in red on compensation charts

Fun Fact

Red-circling is theoretically temporary, but employees often leave before the salary range catches up to their pay, making it a passive retention killer.

Source: Compensation administration practices

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