How to get a pay rise and what to do if you don’t get it.

Let’s face it, we all strive to get paid as much as possible and feel we are appreciated by our employer.

When you first accept a job offer, some type of negotiation over salary and benefits would have taken place and normally by the agency representing you.   When we are negotiating for you, we will try to factor some sort of structure around a pay review which would normally be within 6 months of your start date.

Indeed, it is a good idea if you are going solo on your job search and not using an agency that you adopt this idea of securing a pay review date.  This gives you time to shine and make yourself indispensable and worthy of a potential pay rise within the first year of starting your new job.

However, this year is unusual and there is a big elephant in the room called COVID-19.  If you are one of the lucky ones who worked the entire time of the current Pandemic or you still have your job even after a Furlough period, you will need to consider that  your employer may not be in a financial position to be able to afford to give you a pay rise.

We strongly recommend that you are not too greedy about what you feel you are worth as this year has been incredibly tough for everyone.  If you really feel you are underpaid and that your employer needs to rectify this, we suggest looking on the job boards and finding a similar role to your own one, in a similar location.  This will enable you to present your findings in a measured and professional manner which will give you some leverage and may have the desired effect.

We do hear horror stories of some staff members not being given a pay rise for years end and if this is your situation, you will probably  have no other option then to start job hunting for a role that you believe matches your skills and financial worth.