How to ask for a pay rise in the UK

Pick the right moment

Timing matters as much as the case. The best windows are:

• Before budgets are set, not after. If your company reviews pay in April, the budget is often agreed in January or February. Ask your manager when the pay budget is decided and raise it before then.
• After a visible win: a project shipped, a client retained, a target beaten.
• When your role has grown: you manage people now, own a budget, or cover work that used to belong to a more senior post.
• When the market has moved: if new hires in your role are being offered more than you earn, that's a pay-equity issue your employer will want to fix before you leave.

Avoid asking straight after bad company news, in the middle of a restructure, or by ambushing your manager in a one-to-one with no warning.

Build the evidence

Your manager will probably need to justify the raise to someone else. Give them a short case they can forward:

1. Market data. What your role pays in your area. Use ONS figures, adverts for equivalent roles, salary surveys and recruiter guides. Our city salary pages are a starting point for UK locations.
2. Your contribution. Three or four specific results from the past year, with numbers where possible: revenue, savings, time saved, customer outcomes.
3. Your scope. Responsibilities you've taken on since your pay was last set.
4. The ask. One number, or a percentage, justified by the above.

What to say in the meeting

Ask for the meeting in advance and say what it's about (there's a template in our negotiation email templates). Then keep the conversation simple:

"Thanks for making the time. I'd like to talk about my pay.

Over the past year I've [two or three specific results]. My role has also grown to include [new scope].

I've looked at how this role is paid in [city]. Comparable roles are paid around [£ range]. I'm currently on [£ figure].

I'd like to ask for an increase to [£ figure]. What would need to happen for us to get there?"

Then stop talking. Let your manager respond. If they need time, agree a date to follow up before you leave the room.

If the answer is no

A no today can be a yes in six months if you leave with something concrete. Ask:

• "What specifically would I need to achieve to reach [£ figure]?"
• "Can we put a review date in the diary for [month]?"
• "If salary is fixed this year, is there flexibility on bonus, training budget, title or extra holiday?"

Confirm the answers in a short email afterwards. If nothing changes after the agreed date, that tells you something important about whether your pay will grow where you are. Many people get their largest pay increase by moving employer; see how to negotiate a job offer.

Your rights around pay in the UK

• Under the Equality Act 2010 you can discuss your pay with colleagues to find out whether there's a pay difference linked to a protected characteristic such as sex, race or disability. A contract term that tries to stop this can't be enforced for that purpose.
• Employers with 250 or more staff publish gender pay gap data every year on the government's gender pay gap service. It can show how a company's pay compares across levels.
• Men and women doing equal work for the same employer are entitled to equal pay. If you suspect a gap, ACAS offers free, confidential advice.