You’ve been in your role for eighteen months, your duties have grown twice, and your pay hasn’t moved since the day you started. You’d like to ask for a raise, but every version of the conversation in your head ends in an uncomfortable silence. Asking for a raise goes better when it’s treated as a business case: evidence of what you do, a researched market figure, a specific number and a proper meeting booked in advance.
This is general information, not financial, legal or HR advice. Pay rules differ by country, contract and employer, so check your own contract and policies, and contact a service such as Acas (UK) if you’re unsure of your rights.
Know where you stand before you ask for a raise
In the UK, Acas says there is no legal requirement for an employer to give a pay rise unless the employee earns the minimum wage and it increases, they earn the minimum wage and move into the next age bracket, or their contract says they’re entitled to one. It adds that discretionary pay rises are not guaranteed each year, and that a contract can create a right to a rise if agreed criteria are met. So check your contract and any pay policy first, because a rise you’re already entitled to isn’t a request.
Acas also says that an employee might want to discuss a pay rise with their employer if they have no right to one through their contract or a collective agreement, and that they can give reasons why they think they should get one. On risk, its page on asking for and awarding pay rises says asking for a pay rise is unlikely to be a fair reason to dismiss someone.
Build the evidence
The strongest requests describe a change in the job, not just time served. List what has changed since your pay was last set, in numbers where you can.
| Evidence | Example (invented) | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Results | Cut average order turnaround from 5 days to 3 | Your own tracking, reports, system data |
| New responsibilities | Now train new starters and cover the team lead’s leave | Calendar, rota, handover notes |
| Feedback | Two written thank-yous from clients | Emails, review notes |
| Skills gained | Completed a recognised qualification in your own time | Certificates, training records |
| Scope of the role | Job description says “assist”; you now lead | Contract or job description versus what you do |
Choose three or four strongest items and put them on one page. If you can attach a figure to each, such as hours saved or customers served, do so, but never inflate a number. A manager who checks one figure and finds it wrong will doubt the rest.
Choose the moment
Good timing is practical advice, not a rule from a source: after a delivered project, at a scheduled review, or when your role has visibly grown. If the company has just announced cuts, wait or ask for a date to revisit.
Research your market value
In the US, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook publishes pay by occupation. BLS explains that the median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more and half earned less, and that its pay data come from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program unless noted. A median is a midpoint: someone with your experience in your city might sit well above or below it.
In the UK, the Office for National Statistics reports in its Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 that median gross annual earnings for full-time employees were £39,039 in April 2025, compared with £37,439 in April 2024, an increase of 4.3%. All 2025 estimates are provisional. That’s a change in the median across the workforce, so treat it as background, not as the size of a raise you should expect.
The US Department of Labor’s salary negotiation workshop guide for veterans (2022), written for people weighing a job offer, makes a point that carries over: stick to facts and don’t negotiate from emotion, and know the range for the position in your market, because having a range allows for compromise. Check three kinds of evidence, then: official wage data for your occupation, live adverts for similar roles, and your employer’s own pay bands if they’re published.
Decide your number
Go in with a specific figure and a floor. Asking for “more” gives your manager nothing to take upstairs.
Example (invented figures): your salary is $60,000. Market research suggests that comparable roles pay $64,000 to $68,000. You decide to ask for $64,800, which is 8%: 60,000 x 1.08 = 64,800. Your floor is 4%, or $62,400 (60,000 x 1.04). You also list a non-salary item you’d accept in place of part of the rise, such as a training budget.
A request with a number, three pieces of evidence and a date is a proposal. A request with none of those is a hope.
Book the meeting
Ask for a proper meeting and say what it’s about, so your manager has time to think. Springing it in a corridor gives them nothing to work with. A template you can adapt:
- Sample message: “Could we book 30 minutes in the next two weeks to discuss my role and pay? I want to talk about how my responsibilities have grown since I started and what that means for my salary. I will bring a short summary.”
Make the case calmly
A simple order works: say what you value about the work, present your evidence, state your request, then stop talking and let your manager respond.
- Open: “I enjoy working here and I want to keep growing in this role.”
- Evidence: “Since I started, these things have changed” (three items, one sentence each).
- Request: “Based on that and on what comparable roles pay, I am asking for $64,800.”
- Pause: let the silence sit. Answer questions, don’t fill the gap.
Leave personal reasons out. The DOL guide advises not giving your current compensation or financial obligations as the reason your employer should pay more. Rent, bills and a friend’s salary are not about your contribution. Keep to what you do and what the role is worth.
Be ready for yes, no and not yet
| Answer | What to do |
|---|---|
| Yes | Thank them, ask when it takes effect, and ask for it in writing |
| Part yes | Compare it with your floor; ask about a review date for the rest |
| Not yet | Ask what would need to change and when you can review it again |
| No | Ask for the reason, then ask what you’d need to show for a yes |
If salary can’t move, the DOL guide suggests negotiating other terms instead, and lists schedule flexibility, such as more vacation days or flexible hours, and having the employer pay for education or training. It was written for job offers, but the idea transfers: those items cost the employer money too, so they’re a fair alternative to ask about.
If it’s a no
Stay professional and ask for a date to revisit. Then do the useful thing with the answer. If the reason is budget, ask when budgets are set. If it’s performance, ask for specific targets. If you hear nothing concrete, that is worth knowing when you plan your next step.
Follow up in writing
Send a short note the same day thanking your manager and summarising what was said. Acas says that when a pay rise is agreed, the employer must put a change to main employment terms in writing within one month, and that if an agreed rise isn’t paid, the employee should raise it informally first, then confirm what was discussed by letter or email before considering a grievance. A written summary also helps you remember the review date.
- Sample follow-up: “Thank you for meeting today. To confirm: we agreed to review my pay again in March, and you will tell me by then which targets would support an increase.”
Your pre-meeting checklist
- You’ve checked your contract and any pay policy.
- Three or four pieces of evidence are on one page, with numbers.
- You’ve looked at official wage data and live adverts for similar roles.
- You have a target, a floor and one non-salary alternative.
- The meeting is booked and its subject is stated.
- You’ve practised your opening and request aloud.
- Your follow-up note is ready to send.
Common mistakes
The usual ones are asking without a figure, citing personal costs, comparing yourself with a named colleague, and treating a first no as final. Another is waiting for a review that never comes. A prepared request puts the question on the table instead of waiting for a review that may not come.
The takeaway
Ask for a raise by checking your contract, collecting evidence, researching the market, choosing a number and floor, and booking a real meeting. Make the case calmly, leave out personal reasons, plan for yes, no and not yet, and confirm the outcome in writing.
