If a job posting says “x language speaker required” i think it’s fair that the employee be requested to complete work in that language.
However, there are many times when multilingual employees are asked to translate work or complete special tasks that their teammates cannot because they speak their second language.
I often see these requests in client facing roles such as retail, finance, or law.
Should someone who speaks more than 1 language receive compensation because they are being requested to do work that requires their extra skills? What do you think?
A very American/British problem lol. Here in Belgium everyone is bilingual, many people trilingual, a couple people at my work quadlingual. Here there would be no such compensation.
That being said, if you have to regularly do work outside of your job description/duties, then ask for more money/benefits/compensation.
It of course depends on the situation. Asking 1-2 times per year to check over a translated document or communicate with a client? That isn’t a big deal in my opinion. Asking it every day? Then it is a new duty and should be compensated.