Asking for a pay rise

[BYTEr]

Hi all,

Been at my current workplace for a few years now first joining as an operations & facilities coordinator, after 6 months I was promoted to a newly created role as a project specialist, this came with a 30% pay rise.

I was in this role for 12 months when I was suddenly moved to technical support with a few days’ notice, this is the top technical team with the most experienced guys and recognised as knowledge experts for all our technologies, systems and internal processes so I was quite apprehensive having not really been exposed to any of it.

There was no mention of a pay rise when I was moved to this role, despite it very much being a promotion, I’m expected to have far greater knowledge and be able to support numerous apps, processes, critical internal systems and databases etc in order to support, fix and implement requested changes or fashion preventatives.

I’ve been in the role for 12 months now, and it’s been extremely challenging, I’ve wanted to quit several times and been under a lot of stress as I’ve barely had any training, despite this, I am now feeling like I’m starting to be a productive member of the team rather than a burden and can now work independently.

I now want to ask for a pay rise, as like I have mentioned, from my previous role the expectations and responsibilities placed on me is far greater. I also am unable to finish on time most days as we provide support to other teams who finish later than us, we are also the busiest towards the end of the day and a lot of the time, things have to be fixed same day. There have been times where I've been required to stay until 19:30 when I'm contracted to finish at 17:00, most days I finish around 17:30-17:45.

But I’m reluctant to do so, firstly because I do not think, even on my current salary I’d find it easy to find another role paying the same, partly because I do not think my CV does me justice, I’m essentially at an intermediate level for Excel (including VBA & PQ) and SQL (as well as Access) as well as having a decent understanding of PS/VBS scripting, setting up servers etc which just doesn’t sound that great, or enough to demand my current salary but I have a lot of other good attributes that I find hard to put across on a CV like being very analytical, able to come up with ideas for improvements, being able to liaise with various parties to delivery a project etc, I believe it was these sorts of things which got me my current role.

I’m also reluctant to ask for a pay rise just because of the awkwardness of it, the business does treat me well for the most part, for example they gave me full pay for a few weeks despite having 1 or 2 days off during the week because of childcare issues due to the pandemic. They've also put their confidence in me where others haven't by promoting me twice. The business has also suffered because of the pandemic, still profitable but less so, those who get a bonus did not this year etc.

But I also think it’s unfair to essentially promote me to a role requiring far more knowledge and responsibility without a pay rise, although I’d say I have developed and learnt new things, a lot of it is business specific, what we do is unique, so not all of it is transferable, I’m also not down to get any extra certs or quals or anything like that.

Weirdly we do not have salary reviews, we do have performance reviews which have a strict agenda which doesn’t include salaries. I’ve never been told what the salary structure is, if there is one, I think it’s always been a case that everyone gets a small % increase each year. I've also no idea what other members of the team get.

In terms of a pay rise, I want to ask for £5k which would represent roughly a 15% increase which is probably still selling myself short.

Sorry for the ramble, I just want to ask, but not at the same time, do I request a meeting with my manager or email them, what do I do if they refuse? I'm thinking of maybe emailing my manager to ask what the salary structure is, if there is one? I might be able to gauge the response I might get based on the response to this maybe?

Anyone been in the same situation or have any advice I'd be greatly appreciative.

Thanks in advance.

 

[BYTEr]

Not sure why I've posted this in Home and Garden oops.

 

[BYTEr]

Those are some very good points, thanks.

I suppose I do not feel massively underpaid, however, with very short notice and no consultation I've been moved to a role that requires much more knowledge, carries extra responsibilities and stresses, extra hours etc without a payrise. I don't feel like I'm getting a lot extra out of it to not justify a payrise, if I was learning new things that was transferrable or gaining extra qualifications then I could take that.

I'm definitely not instantly replaceable, my role carries specific business knowledge that someone who hasn't worked here before couldn't possibly possess. We also have a small team that is already stretched and supports business critical systems, they could replace me with someone from a different team with experience, but it would probably still take 6 months for them to get upto speed whilst also requiring a member of the team training them. So, I'm not instantly replaceable but neither will the business collapse without me.

it's difficult, I will definitely start making a note of improvements I've introduced etc if it comes to justifying a payrise, still not sure how to bring it up though, I'm still thinking of maybe sending a email enquiring about the salary structure as a sort of feeler.

Thanks for all the replies so far

 

[BYTEr]

I am not confident of finding another job at my current pay, let alone for an extra £5k, not because I don’t think I’m worth that much but it’s difficult to show my worth until I’m in the job if that makes sense, jobs at different companies have all been the same, start near the bottom of the ladder, but then I’m able to fairly quickly demonstrate I can do much more.

As mentioned, my CV will basically show 5 years’ experience in data analysis, system support and business intelligence activities with intermediate skills in Excel, Access & T-SQL, (I do have some knowledge and experience in other things as well, but probably not enough to put on a CV like Python, Powershell and stuff but not enough to put on a CV). I sometimes have felt like putting these at advanced/expert levels because we’ve had some people join the company claiming so that barely know anything, when I’ve googled skills for the above 3, I fall into the intermediate category with some experience and knowledge in what are considered advanced areas.

It’s my other attributes that seem to go down well and get noticed, for example being relentlessly curious and analytical over current systems and processes, constantly questioning things, I email my manager several times a week with ideas for improvements, some of which have been implemented, I also have a good record for project management but don’t have any qualifications in the area, it’s these sorts of things that I struggle to put across on a CV

With the above said, it seems like I’d be looking at new jobs for £5k less than what I’m on now, my employer probably thinks that too.

The cost and inconvenience of replacing me would be many times what I’m asking for, roles that are less senior that mine seem to attract £4k-£5 agency fees alone, as the business is unique in what we do, with our own apps and processes, the learning curve is steep, at least 6 months, in which time you’re basically useless as we work with sensitive data so you can’t work on it alone until you’re ready, it’s probably 12 months before you can become a productive and independent member of the team.

With all of the above said, I should probably just be happy with what I’ve got, I just feel slightly mugged off that I’ve effectively been promoted without a pay rise and also feel like it’s a missed opportunity to ask for one if I don’t.

Thanks for the replies so far, they’ve been helpful.

 

[BYTEr]

Thanks everyone for their advice.

I have an update.

Long story short, I had a meeting with my manager, agrees my new role is a big step up in terms of knowledge and responsibility and that he now sees me as independent and capable but suggested I should be happy enough with the development opportunity and exposure. He stated salaries are frozen for the short to medium term and there are no formal processes within the team regarding salaries. He did mention that at some point he wants to introduce a formal review process and grading system and suggested that the bottom of this grading system would be higher than my current salary and so I can expect a raise then.

So yeah, not the outcome I was hoping for and feel completely unmotivated, funny thing is, is that on Monday he told me that I should start assigning myself a specific type of technical support call from another team so I can start learning a new niche area of the business, whilst this is a good opportunity, the knowledge is only really specific to the company and at the moment, I don't feel like pushing or stretching myself any further, especially if the knowledge is only useful if you work for the company.

I'll be updating my CV, talking to agencies, looking at job sites etc to see if I can find something else, even for the same or slightly less salary wise as I'm not happy with the situation, maybe I should have spoke up from the beginning, but like I said, I was basically given 2 days warning I'd be moving teams and at the time was eager to learn more, and whilst grateful for the opportunity, I think it's off that I wasn't paid more to begin with and especially now, despite the business not doing quite so well.

 

[BYTEr]

I have another update.

Short story is, I was offered another role, a more senior role and for 10% more than my current salary, it wasn't a dream job by any means, but I had basically been looking for anything that paid the same.

I decided to inform my manager about the offer who had a completely different tone, asked me if I was considering it etc and I replied yes as I didn't feel I could turn down a salary increase, he ended up telling me to wait a few days before potentially deciding to accept so he could come back to me with another offer.

On Monday, he informed me that as a reflection of my hard work, increased knowledge and responsibility he has decided to offer me a salary increase which works out as 26% more which I'm very pleased about.

There's still no framework in place for salaries, so no idea about the future etc and still a bit annoyed I wasn't initially offered anything but I'll take it and will certainly make sure I spend some time each week/month looking for other roles, even if it's just to demand a pay rise.

Thanks all.

 

[BYTEr]

Ask for extra annual leave to cover the interviews you need to go to to get any raise in future. Congratulations on getting the job offer though - just remember people want you.

Ha yeah, it's annoying I've had to get another job offer before getting a raise, especially in this case where I've literally been promoted into a much more demanding role, acknowledged by my manager that it's a much more demanding role, wait a year to ask for a raise and told no and expect to be happy with 'exposure'. Almost wish I could afford to turn down the extra 16% over the other role and leave anyway but I suppose I should be content.

GET THE PAY RISE OFFER IN WRITING.

Whilst I was having the meeting with my manager, he sent me an email with an attached PDF on the company headed template confirming it so all should be good.