The cost of living crisis has seen a huge shock to people’s household finances in recent years and there are signs that wage growth has begun to help people manage better as they’re faced with bigger bills. But there will still be some who are struggling and so employers may find themselves having to respond to employees asking for a pay rise and in this month’s blog, we’ve got a few handy tips on how to deal with that.
Be open to the request
It is important to initially be open to the employee’s request for a pay rise – it’s important to remember that it might have come out of the blue for the employer but the employee is likely to have been stewing on it for many weeks and will be anxious. Don’t say ‘no’ immediately but reassure the employee they will be given the time to explain why they think they deserve a pay rise.
Avoid a stressful situation
Those weeks of stewing may have caused the employee to have built up a list of grievances and reasons as to why they don’t feel valued and airing them at this point might not be the most productive thing to do. So maybe plan for the initial meeting to be short – confirm the request will be given consideration and set a future meeting date to discuss it further so both parties have the time to prepare. Ensure the employee is clear about the expectations for the future meeting.
Do some benchmarking
It’s a good idea for employers to undertake regular benchmarking exercises to ensure they are paying their staff at a level comparable to their competitors. But if the employer has received a pay rise request, it’s worth just doing a quick salary comparison so they are armed with up to date information for the meeting.
Undertake a performance review
If the employee is requesting a pay rise, it is likely that they believe they have been performing well – perhaps undertaking additional responsibilities, working longer hours or generating income. But it would be good for the employer to look into this so they can be sure that any extra effort is appropriately rewarded. This is also important should another employee request a pay rise who perhaps hasn’t been working this hard and will allow for that situation to be managed appropriately.
Other options
Budget restrictions might mean that a pay rise isn’t possible but if the employer values the employee and the work they’ve been doing, there might be other ways to reward the employee. Flexible working might be something they are interested in or perhaps some additional holiday time. If business considerations allow it, could the employee be offered a shorter working week for the same salary?
Discussions about pay rises are always tricky and they can’t always have a positive outcome even if it’s what everyone wants. But by taking the request seriously, giving the employee the space to air their issues and explore options offers a great chance of a satisfactory conclusion.