Who sets my pay rate, and how do I dispute it?

Applies to: Employees and independent contractors on US and Canada assignments placed through a staffing partner. Employees working outside the US and Canada should raise pay questions with their in-country HR contact.

Short answer: Your staffing partner (the agency that placed you) sets your pay rate on your assignment, together with the client. Ascen pays the rate on your approved assignment. If you were paid a different rate from the one you agreed to, email support@ascen.com and we will check your assignment and correct the pay. If you want the rate itself changed, that is a conversation with your staffing partner, because Ascen can't set or change it for them.

Which situation are you in?

You were paid a different rate than you agreed

For example, your offer letter or pay-rate notice says one rate and your pay stub shows a lower one. Email support@ascen.com with:

• The pay period and the rate on your pay stub

• The rate you agreed to

• A copy of what shows the agreed rate, such as your offer letter, pay-rate notice or contract

We compare your pay against your assignment and your signed documents. If you were paid the wrong rate, for example because hours were recorded on an older assignment at your previous rate, we pay you the difference on a later paycheck.

The rate on a document you're about to sign is wrong

If the rate on a pay-rate notice or offer letter in onboarding is not what you were told, don't sign it. Email support@ascen.com with what you expected, and we will check the assignment and reissue the document if it needs correcting. See Does the pay-rate notice I signed lock in my rate for every shift?

You disagree with the rate itself, or were promised a raise

The rate is agreed between you, your staffing partner and the client, so ask your staffing partner. Once they change it, the new rate is set up on your assignment with new documents for you to sign, and it applies from its effective date. If they tell you a raise or bonus was already sent to us and it is still not on your check, see A bonus or a new pay rate is missing from your paycheck.

Why it works this way

Ascen is your employer of record. Your staffing partner finds the work and agrees the rate with the client; Ascen runs payroll, taxes and compliance and pays you the rate on your assignment. That is why a rate change has to come from your staffing partner, but a mistake in what you were paid is Ascen's to fix.

Get help

• Ascen, support@ascen.com: you were paid the wrong rate, or a document shows the wrong rate.

• Your staffing partner: you want a different rate, or want to know what a future shift or placement pays.