How to ask for a raise

1. Find the date. Ask your manager: "When is pay for next year decided, and when would you need my case?"
2. Say it early. Tell your manager now that you want a raise, and ask what they would need to see.
3. Keep a dated record of your results as they happen.
4. Bring one page before the date: what you want, the agreed criteria, three results with proof, and your request.
5. Send a short email the same day, so the request is on record.
6. If the answer is no, ask what is missing and when it will be looked at again.

Most guides tell you to list your achievements, look up market pay and pick a good moment. That is sound. It leaves out the part that decides the outcome: who decides, and when.

Pay rises come out of a budget. The budget is set at a fixed point in the year, usually by people above your manager. Your manager's job is to argue for you there. They can only argue with what they have in hand on that day.

At one company I worked for, senior management met around March to decide which new roles to open. That was the moment my manager could argue for the role I wanted, if I had told him in time. If I had not, it was for the following year.

So the right time to ask is not "after a big win" and not "at my review". In many companies the review meeting comes after the money has been allocated. Ask your manager whether that is true where you work.

There are four ways to find it:

1. Ask your manager. "When is pay for next year decided? When would you need my case to take it there?"
2. Ask HR, or read the review calendar. Many companies publish it.
3. Ask a colleague who got a raise last year. They know when their manager had to submit.
4. Watch for planning season. Budgets are usually set before the financial year starts.

Then work backwards and put four dates in your calendar: the decision, the day your manager needs your case, the day you hand over a first draft, and the day you start writing it.

Tell your manager months before the date:

Write down the answer. Then bring it up once a month, for two minutes, in your one-on-one:

Your manager never has to wonder whether you still want it, and you hear early if something has changed.

Once a week, write one line for each result:

When the date comes, you choose three entries. You do not rebuild the year from memory the night before.

Ask for a figure or a level. "More" cannot be approved.

I will not give you a percentage, because the right number depends on three things you have to look up:

• Your pay band. Ask HR or your manager what the band is for your level, and where you sit in it.
• What the role pays elsewhere, for your job and your city.
• What has changed. List the work you carry now that you did not carry a year ago.

Write one page that someone else can read aloud in a room you are not in. This page is your salary increase justification. An example:

State the limits yourself. A page that admits what it cannot show is easier to believe.

Then stop talking and listen.

The email puts the request on record. It still stands if your manager changes or the team is reorganised.

Put the answer in an email too. A "not yet" with no criteria and no date is information. So is the same answer three months running.

• Do not raise it for the first time at your review.
• Do not ask with no figure.
• Do not compare yourself with a named colleague. Make the case on your own work.
• Do not say you will leave unless you are ready to.

When is the best time to ask for a raise? Before the date your company decides pay. Find that date first.

How do I ask for a raise by email? Ask in a conversation if you can, then confirm it by email the same day. If your manager prefers writing, send the one page with the email above.

How much should I ask for? A specific figure, based on your pay band, what the role pays elsewhere, and what you now carry. There is no percentage that fits everyone.

Should I ask for a raise or a promotion? A raise changes your pay in the same role. A promotion changes your level, and usually your band. If you are at the top of your band, ask what the next level requires.

How do I ask for a pay rise in the UK? The steps are the same. Ask when the pay review happens where you work.

What if there is no review process at my company? Someone still decides pay at some point in the year. Ask: "When do you set pay for next year?"

Nothing here can promise a raise. It makes sure your case exists, is known, and arrives on time.

Asking for a raise is one step in a year-long routine. The full method is free: Start your annual review on day one. The free workbook holds the record, the dates and the one page.

If you would rather have it kept for you, a coach that runs it is planned.