How to Ask for a Raise: Eight Steps, With Example Wording

Published · by JOBB GROUP FZE

A pay rise is rarely a reward for asking nicely. It is a decision your manager has to justify to someone else, usually against a fixed budget. The request that works makes that justification easy: a specific number, evidence that your role or results have grown, and timing that matches when pay decisions are actually made.

Asking doesn’t guarantee a yes. In one study of Australian workplace survey data from 2013–14, Benjamin Artz, Amanda Goodall and Andrew Oswald found that women asked for raises as often as men, but women who asked obtained one 15% of the time and men 20% of the time. So prepare for both answers. The steps below cover the ask itself and what to do if the answer is “not now”.

If you are negotiating pay for a new job rather than your current one, the approach is different: you have more leverage before you sign than after. This guide is about raising pay with the employer you already work for.

Step 1: Find out how pay is decided where you work

Before you build a case, learn the system it will be judged by. Find out:

  • when the annual pay review happens, and when budgets for it are set;
  • whether there are pay bands or grades, and where you sit in yours;
  • who actually approves increases: your manager, their manager, HR or a committee;
  • whether increases outside the annual cycle are possible at all.

Your HR policy or employee handbook may answer most of this. If it doesn’t, ask HR directly; it’s a neutral question.

In the European Union, you may have a legal right to some of this information. The EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970) gives workers the right to request written information on their own pay level and on the average pay levels for categories of workers doing the same work or work of equal value, to be provided within two months (as summarised by law firm Lewis Silkin). Employers must also make available the criteria used to determine pay, pay levels and pay progression, although member states may exempt employers with fewer than 50 workers from that last obligation. The deadline for member states to put the directive into national law was 7 June 2026, and not every country had finished by then, so check how your country has implemented it.

Step 2: Pick your moment

Timing can matter as much as the case. Good moments:

  • A month or two before budgets are set, so your increase can be planned rather than found.
  • Soon after a clear result, while it is fresh in everyone’s mind.
  • When your responsibilities have grown, for example after taking on a team, a client or a colleague’s work.

Poor moments: during layoffs or a hiring freeze, in the same week as a missed target, or in a corridor conversation your manager hasn’t prepared for.

Step 3: Build an evidence file

Managers rarely approve raises because someone has been there a long time. They approve them because the person is worth more to the organisation than before. Collect evidence in three columns:

What changed Evidence Why it matters to the business
Scope: what you do now that you didn’t when your pay was set New duties, people you supervise, systems you own Your role is now larger than its pay grade
Results: what you delivered Numbers where possible: revenue, savings, time saved, error rates, customer scores Shows value, not effort
Skills: what you can do now Certifications, projects led, tools learned Makes you harder and more expensive to replace

Two or three strong points beat ten weak ones. Cut anything that is simply “doing my job well”.

Step 4: Benchmark your pay

You need to know whether you are underpaid, fairly paid or already at the top of the market. Use several sources: published salary surveys for your field and country, current job adverts that state pay, recruiters who place people in your kind of role, and colleagues.

Talking about pay with colleagues is protected in some countries:

  • United States: the National Labor Relations Board states that employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act have the right to discuss their wages with co-workers, and that policies prohibiting such discussions are unlawful.
  • United Kingdom: under section 77 of the Equality Act 2010, a contract term that tries to stop you discussing pay is unenforceable when the purpose is to find out whether pay differences are connected to a protected characteristic such as sex or race.

Rules differ elsewhere, so check your contract and local law before relying on either. In the UAE, the Labour Law states that a woman is granted a wage equal to a man’s if she performs the same work or work of equal value (Article 4, clause 4 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021).

Keep general pay movement in mind too. In the US, private-industry wages and salaries rose 3.1% in the year to June 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. An across-the-board increase of that kind keeps pay level with the market; it doesn’t recognise a bigger role. If your scope has grown, your case is for more than the general rise.

Step 5: Choose your number, and your second option

Ask for a specific figure, not “a bit more”. Base it on your benchmark and your evidence, and be able to explain it in one sentence.

Then decide in advance what you would accept if the full figure isn’t possible this year. Alternatives that cost an employer less in the short term include:

  • a written commitment to a set increase at a set date;
  • a promotion or regrade, with the pay to follow;
  • a one-off bonus for a specific result;
  • a training budget, extra leave or more flexible working.

In the Gulf, also consider how any increase is split. In the UAE, end-of-service gratuity is calculated on the basic wage (Article 51), so an increase added to basic salary is worth more over time than the same amount added to an allowance.

Step 6: Ask for the meeting

Ask for a dedicated meeting and say what it’s about. Surprising your manager makes a defensive answer more likely.

Illustrative email: “Could we book 30 minutes next week to talk about my role and pay? Since March I’ve taken over the regional accounts and the onboarding of new team members, and I’d like to discuss how my salary reflects that. I’ll bring a short summary.”

Step 7: Make the case in the meeting

Keep the structure simple: what has changed, what it has delivered, what you are asking for.

Illustrative wording: “When my salary was last set, I was handling 12 accounts. I now handle 20, including the two largest, and retention on my accounts was 96% this year. Based on what similar roles pay in the market, I’m asking for an increase to 15,500 a month. I’d like to know what would be needed to make that happen.”

Then stop talking and let your manager respond. Most answers fall into a few types:

If you hear A constructive reply
“There’s no budget right now.” “I understand. When is the next budget decision, and can we agree now what I’d need to show by then?”
“You’re not quite there yet.” “What specifically would you need to see? Could we write that down and review it in three months?”
“I’ll need to take this to HR.” “Of course. What can I give you that would help, and when should we speak again?”
“Yes.” “Thank you. Could you confirm the amount and the effective date in writing?”

Avoid ultimatums unless you are genuinely ready to leave, and avoid comparisons with named colleagues. Talk about your role and the market instead.

Step 8: Get it in writing

A verbal yes is not a pay rise until it appears on your payslip. Ask for written confirmation of the new amount, how it is split if you receive allowances, and the date it takes effect.

In the UAE, the wage must be specified in the employment contract (Article 22 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021). For a mainland employer, a salary change is recorded by amending the contract with MoHRE: the application is submitted by the company’s authorised signatory, and the employer cannot change contract terms, including salary, without the employee’s explicit written consent, as Khaleej Times explained in July 2026. Free zones have their own processes: in Jafza, for example, the company submits a salary-increase amendment through the Dubai Trade portal, with recent bank statements or payslips showing the new salary. This is general information as of November 2026, not legal advice; for questions about your contract, contact MoHRE on 600590000.

If the answer is no

A no is information. Ask for the reason, ask what would change it, and agree a date to review. Then decide what you’ll do if nothing has changed by that date.

If the honest answer is that your role cannot pay more where you are, the market may value you more than your current employer can. Updating your CV while your recent results are fresh puts you in a stronger position either way; the resume builder is a quick place to do that, and resume examples show how others present measurable results.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I ask for?

Base the figure on market data for your role and location and on how much your scope has grown, not on a standard percentage. Be ready to explain the number in one sentence.

Can I ask for a raise during probation?

You can, but you will rarely have the evidence yet. It is usually better to agree, at the end of probation, what results would justify a review and when it will happen.

Should I mention an offer from another company?

Only if it is real and you would accept it. Used as a bluff, it can damage trust, and your employer may simply wish you well.

Is it better to ask by email or in person?

Ask for the meeting by email, make the case in person or on a video call, and confirm the outcome by email afterwards.

Sources

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