Is every individual entitled to a cost of living pay rise?

Answer 1

A There are few things more horrible than salary negotiations - except perhaps a total lack of them, which, since it's the situation you seem to find yourself in now, we'll deal with first. I'm having to Scrabble around a bit for clues here - a profession, sector or role might have helped me give better advice - but I'm assuming your boss has failed to explain why you haven't had a rise for two years. Knowing why, of course, would not make things any easier financially, but it might at least soften the blow of seeing your salary diminish in real terms. Which is, of course, what is happening every time you don't get an annual pay rise - particularly in a climate where the cost of basics, such as food and energy, is rising. There is nothing to say that an employer has to give you a cost of living pay rise each year, though you'll find that most do. That is up to you to negotiate. The only real exception I can think of is if you are working for the minimum wage, in which case it is worth keeping an eye on its current rate. So what should you do? If at all possible, I'd be tempted to find out if your colleagues are in the same situation. It can be difficult to talk to colleagues about salaries, but you don't need to demand to know what people earn. Maybe just ask at coffee time what the deal is with pay rises - do people tend to get a yearly rise automatically, or do they have to go and talk to the boss? Your colleagues shouldn't get too prickly at that kind of question. What happens next may be more difficult. If nobody has had a pay rise then there is at least the hope of strength in numbers. You can approach management as a unit and ask, at the very least, for an explanation of why there hasn't been a cost of living rise in two years. There is also the option of joining a union and negotiating through it. But I'm a little worried that you will find other people have had pay rises. And the reason they've wheedled some more cash out of the boss? Mainly because they've asked. You seem so desperate to avoid any potential conflict that you'd rather ask me about your pay rise than the person who can actually award it to you. You need to be stronger about being paid what you are worth. So how should you go about asking for a rise? You don't say whether you've ever had an appraisal at work, but I'm guessing not - negotiations about cash often go hand-in-hand with reviews of how you're doing - so arrange one now. (Although if I'm honest, this doesn't exactly send out good signals about your employer: no appraisals, not a murmur of any cost of living pay rise, let alone promotion - it's not exactly selling itself as company of the year.) Don't find a new job just yet though (although if I were you I might well consider starting to look for one). Instead, ask your manager if you can have a meeting about how you're doing at work - say it's been two years and you think this is a good time to consider your role, your development, and your potential within the company. After ensuring your boss is happy with your work (which may, of course, be another reason why you're not getting any extra money - have you ever checked that you are performing well enough?) then you should raise the question of pay. Talk about moving up within the company as well as the salary scale. Find your voice. Negotiating around money is never pleasant. But you have to start the conversation to find out how your boss will react.