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How to get a pay rise

Journalist: Imogen Tew, Freelance

ended 16. September 2025

Hi all

I'm writing a piece for The Times on how to get a payrise and I'm looking for career experts / HR professionals to contribute please.

My questions are:

  • If you want to approach your current employer about a payrise, how is it best to start that conversation?
  • What information or detail should you be prepared with when asking for the payrise?
  • Is there merit to moving company in order to get a bigger payrise? (We feature a case study who has done this, so it would be great to get any data/anecdotes on the fact that moving job is a good way to get more money)

My deadline is EOP today (Tuesday, September 16) please - thank you so much in advance.

9 responses from the Newspage community

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Kate Underwood
Founder & Chief People Strategist at Kate Underwood HR and Training
Asking for a pay rise can feel daunting, but it doesn’t need to be. The trick is in the prep. Start by pulling out your job description: what you were hired to do, what you’ve added since, and what’s quietly fallen off your plate. Then line that up against what the market says your role is worth. It’s a simple way to build a clear, confident case. Yes, switching jobs is often linked to bigger salary bumps—around 8%–10% compared with about 3% for people who stay put. But staying has its advantages too. Length of service is often worth more than you think: your experience and loyalty can put you in line for a faster promotion, instead of starting again from the bottom in a new company. So, while moving on can pay, don’t underestimate the value of asking where you are. Go in prepared, keep the focus on your contribution, and remember the four P’s: preparation prevents poor performance. Back yourself, and you might be pleasantly surprised by the answer.
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Mary Maguire
Managing Director at Astute Recruitment Ltd
What are the keys to unlock a successful pay rise? Firstly try and avoid job stagnation. If you're looking to climb the career and pay ladder then be wary of staying for too long in the same job as most bigger pay rises come from moving to a new employer. But if you don't want to move jobs, ask your existing company as too few people do that. If you're highly thought of, have achieved success and made valuable contributions to your current employer, then there's nothing wrong in professionally scheduling a meeting to discuss why you feel a pay rise is due. Always remember that, in your career as with everything else, "if you don't ask you don't get". Just present the reasons why you should get a rise very clearly and be open to a productive conversation.
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Samuel Mather-Holgate
Managing Director & IFA at Mather and Murray Financial
To set the right tone, ask your manager for a pay review meeting so they know what you want to discuss. Try to avoid ambushing them in the corrider. During the meeting, focus on what you have achieved for the company and your goals going forward. You need to set out why you are a valuable member of the team. Be flexible on what they offer — base salary, bonus, benefits, etc — and weigh up the options of going elsewhere if you feel you're being undervalued.
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Kate Allen
Owner at Finest Stays
Show evidence of the value you bring, which might have been missed by your boss: hard numbers, sales impact, brilliant team leadership or proof you’re the go-to subject expert. Pay rises reward results and specialism, not stamina. Just don't plead long hours as that signals poor timekeeping or lack of delegation.
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Pete Mugleston
Mortgage Advisor & Managing Director at onlinemortgageadvisor.co.uk
When asking for a pay rise, it’s best to be direct and assertive but respectful. What matters most is proving the value you bring to the organisation, with clear examples of the work you’ve delivered and the results that show you are operating at the level you’re asking for.
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Harry Mills
Director at Oku Markets
Asking for a pay rise can be a daunting task for many employees, but it's part of the normal course of working life and shouldn't be shied away from. The best advice I can give is to be honest and up-front with your employer, whilst focusing the conversation around the value you bring to the business. Simply asking for a pay rise won't cut it, and you will likely annoy your boss – nobody wants increased costs without good reason. But, if you present the additional value you have created and will continue to create, and suggest a timeframe to increase your rewards, perhaps with milestones, this will come across in a more professional, structured and appetising way to your employer. Moving to a new company has historically been a great way of increasing your pay, and remember that using an external offer to get higher pay can work, but you need to be prepared to leave if your bluff is called.
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Jen David
Owner at Jen David
Prepare to ask for a pay rise by:
- Benchmarking: find out the going rate for your role, industry and location
- Scheduling: ask in a pre-arranged meeting, not before the first coffee of the day or when the boss is mid-crisis
- Justifying: pull together some examples of when you’ve delivered great results or exceeded expectations
- Rationalising: Present business-related reasons to justify the pay rise – personal reasons won’t cut it
- Negotiating: go with a figure in mind and prepare to compromise
- Waiting: don’t expect an immediate response or make wild threats about leaving if you don’t get your way
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Clive Bonny
MD at Strategic Management Partners
I moved jobs when my higher earning wife had our first baby and stopped earning. My income increased nine times.
Don't move jobs if you enjoy your role and your manager
When asking for a pay rise: check market rates; ensure your performance reviews are good; measure the immediate and long term impacts of your activities; finally draft a case study of impacts featuring the support from your manager and team mates eg below

https://consult-smp.com/archive/2023/03/low-carbon-innovation.html
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Keith Budden
Managing Director at Ensurety
In my experience, moving company can be a good way of getting a bigger payrise if you have been with your existing company for 5 years+.

The reason? Well let's say you start on an attractive salary, and that salary increases by 5% every year, which feels reasonably ok. However, peers at other companies are now being employed in similar roles which would in effect increase your salary by 50% over those 5 years. While you could approach your current employer for a 50% raise, the chances of getting this are slim for one of two reasons a) they can't afford it or b) they can afford it but to admit they've been seriously underpaying you would be embarrasing to them so it's easier for them just to say no. Taking my personal experience, admittedly from a good number of years ago, I started at there at £18,500 per year and by the time I left 7 years later I was on £25,000. So far, so good, but I jumped to another company doing the same role and started there on £37,000.