4 really important times to ask for a pay rise –
Introduction 👋
In an ideal world, your employer would pay you the right amount of money all the time.
But sadly, this doesn’t happen! ☹️
These days, you need to ask for the pay you want, otherwise you might not get it!
Today we’re going to explain the 4 most important times you need to remember, to consider trying to increase your pay!
Disclaimer: This website provides information for guidance and educational purposes only. The Grown-Up School does not provide regulated financial advice. You can seek independent financial advice from a suitably qualified and regulated professional advisor. Check out our disclaimer policy for more information.
1. Starting a new job 🙋♀️
Starting a new job is probably the easiest and most important time to increase your pay.
This is because:
1. You have power when starting a job 💪
Employers usually:
- are keen to get you hired quickly ⌚
- already have money set aside for hiring you 💸
which can sometimes give you a bit more power to ask for pay, rather than when you’re settled into a job (where there is no time limit for agreeing your pay, and no money already set aside!).
Also when you’re starting a job ⬇️
2. They expect you to negotiate 🤷♀️
Negotiating your pay is also a really common thing to happen when starting a new job, so employers are probably already waiting for you to start the conversation! ⌚💬
Also when you’re starting a job ⬇️
3. You can show your new employer what you expect 📝
Negotiating your pay when you first start a job sets the expectation with your employer that you want to be paid fairly, and will take sensible steps to ensure that you are paid your worth. 💸
It could make pay conversations easier for you later on because your employer already knows that you are someone who will start conversations with them about pay. 🤷♀️
Also when you’re starting a job ⬇️
4. They’ll already have money on their mind 🧠
Whenever an employer puts up a job advert, they have to check their budget and work out how much money they can spend on hiring.🕵️♀️
This means they’ll already have a pool of money set aside for hiring you!💰
Why not see if their budget will stretch a bit, since money is already on their mind? 💸
2. Performance reviews 🧐
Usually at least once a year, employers will review:
- How well the organisation is performing 🔍
- How well you are performing 🕵️♀️
During this time they’ll tend to check things like:
- Finances 💸
- Team targets 🎯
- Achievements 🏅
- What could be improved 🩹
In particular, as part of these reviews you’ll usually have a meeting with your manager to discuss how well you’ve worked over the past year. 💼
This is an ideal time to talk to your employer about a pay rise!
This is because:
- You’ll already be talking about your achievements and how much value you bring, to convince them that you deserve a pay rise ✨
- It’s sooo common for pay to become part of performance review conversations – they’ll be expecting you to talk about it! 👍
3. When you discover you’re being underpaid 🕵️♀️
Researching 🔍
It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on how much people are getting paid for doing the same job as you, to make sure that you’re getting paid fairly. 👀
You can use things like:
to get a really good understanding of what other people are getting paid for doing the same job as you.
Remember to consider:
- What people in your local area are getting paid (sometimes people living far away will get paid more or less than you) 🗺️
- Your skills and how much you could get paid for them 🛠️
- Your job title and how much people get paid for it 👩💼
If you discover that you’re getting underpaid from research, it’s a good time to consider asking for a pay rise, to make sure that you’re receiving pay that is fair and competitive.
Finding out someone is getting paid more than you 🤫
It can be really upsetting to find out that one of your colleagues is getting paid more than you. ☹️
But – the good news is that it’s an opportunity for you to address a problem, and potentially get a pay rise at the same time! 💸
Just because an employer might’ve made a mistake about pay it doesn’t mean that you have to argue with them – it’s just a problem that you can work together to solve. 🤝
In a lot of countries, it is a legal requirement for you to receive equal pay for the same work as someone else – especially when it comes to people of different genders.
Be careful about telling your employer how you found out about the pay gap between you and your colleagues however. 😬
You wouldn’t want to get your colleagues into trouble – some employers (wrongfully!) encourage employees to keep their pay a secret from everyone else. 🤫
If you handle the conversation carefully and professionally, you could bag yourself a pay rise without damaging your relationship with your employer. 👏
4. When inflation rises 🎈
What is inflation? (easy explanation)🎈
If inflation is high, it means that the value of your money goes down. ⬇️
This means if you’re not getting a pay rise at work, you’re technically getting a pay cut (because of inflation!) ✂️
If inflation for the year rises by 5% and you DON’T get a pay rise – this means you’re technically getting a 5% pay cut.
Ideally, you want your pay rise to either:
- match inflation so you’re not losing money 💸 e.g. if inflation was 5%, get a 5% pay rise
- beat inflation so that you’re earning more money 🤑 e.g. if inflation was 5%, get a 7% pay rise
If inflation is high for your country right now, it’s really important to consider how much money you’re “losing”, by not getting a pay rise.
Conclusion 👍
So that’s it!
You should consider trying to negotiate your pay when you:
- Start a new job 🙋♀️
- Have a performance review 🧐
- Discover that you’re being underpaid 🕵️♀️
- When inflation rises 🎈
If you know any friends or family members who might benefit from learning about when you should consider negotiating your pay, share this post with them!
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