Recruitment News and Articles
Temporary Workers: Negotiating a Payrise
22 June 2007
If you have been in touch with your consultant at People First to request a review of your hourly rate, then there are ways in which you can help us to increase your chances of a positive response when we approach your line manager. We have put together this document to assist you in evaluating your chances of success.
A pay rise is not an automatic right for any worker, regardless of how long they have worked with the company, and their employment status. Permanent employees will normally receive a salary review after their first year of service, and from then on it will be reviewed annually, but with no guarantee of a pay increase. Therefore, when it comes to requesting a review of your own hourly rate, be realistic; if you have only been working with the company for a very short time, or your hourly rate was increased only a few months ago, you may find your line manager unwilling to review again so soon, especially if you are essentially doing the same role and have not taken on extra responsibilities.
Your consultant will be able to provide you with information on the current job market, and if your pay rate is in line with other people doing the same job in your field. We also speak to your line manager on a monthly basis and may be able to assist you to evaluate your chances of successfully re-negotiating your rate, based on the feedback we have received from them.
When you wish to have your pay reviewed, please try and assist your People First consultant by explaining to them the reasons for your requests and providing evidence to show why you feel an increase is justified. Unfortunately, just because you discover that a colleague is on a higher rate doesn’t automatically entitle you to more money! It may be that they add value to their role in ways that you are not aware of.
Your consultant will also be in a good position to assist you in deciding what level of rise to request. Whilst an extra £1 per hour may not seem a lot to you, when added up on to a yearly salary, it becomes approx. £2000! Is this a realistic request?
We will do our utmost to try and guarantee a positive response for you, but ultimately it is down to the line manager, not your consultant, to decide whether or not to agree a pay rise. It is important to understand that there may be other influences which make it difficult for your line manager to offer an increase in pay; the department may not have the budget to increase your wage, or it may be that your salary is already at the top end of the salary band for that grade of work, as set by the company. Whether positive or negative, we will let you know what the response is, and the reasons behind the decision.
