Confused about Fates.

Running around Costa Del Sol with my level 31 Glad.

1) Run into Fates level 33 and the typical message "YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS WILL NOT
BE WEIGHED AS HEAVILY" shows up.

2) My Wife and roommate are level 33-34 respectfully (were assuming that this is the
recommended level of the Fate.

3) After completion I as a level 31, below recommended level received more XP
(11k+) than the level 33-34 were receiving (7-9k+).

a) We did arrive at the Fates at roughly the same time with a 20sec to a
1min difference, most at the same time, as we were grouped together.

Is this working as intended?

It all depends on how much damage was put into it.