What's generally seen as a 'typical' pay rise in the UK?

Posted by soulsplit80@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 74 comments

I've been at a Company I work for in the UK closing in on 20 years, it's quite a niche business in the industry it's in and after navigating it's way through quite a volatile 10 years has ended up being one of the main players in it's field. The competition that used to be fairly plentiful has all pretty much gone leaving it a very healthy, last man standing, state.

I haven't really known a dip in business in all the time I've been here and since COVID everything has been pretty much super-charged, to the point now it's almost head scratching how busy everyone at the company is (it's a small company of around 12 members of staff). In a nutshell the company is doing very well, grows considerably year on year and as I said has no real competition in what it does.

In all the time I've been here we've had a few annual pay rises, all of which really have been inflation driven, so the extra few quid you get essentially goes on bread, milk & bills, the financial benefit hasn't been seen further beyond that.

I run my department single handed and am solely responsible for a significant income to the company and after much debating about the pros/cons I've decided it's time to put a case forward for my salary & conditions to be looked at.

I have a really good relationship with the boss and am expecting a lot of what I ask for to be put back on me and basically state what kind of pay rise I'm looking for, the dreaded question! If you can justify quite easily that you're in line for a pretty decent wage rise, is there seen as a realistic amount to ask for?

I'd like to think I'm in a really good place to get something but don't want to under-sell what I'm asking for (as it's not something I can ask for every year) and also don't want to ask for something which would be seen as a laughable amount.

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chocolateybiscuit81@reddit

A starting point would be looking at similar roles that are on offer at the moment to see what they are paying and base it from that.

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GenericNinjaFight@reddit

You guys are getting pay rises?

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Bex1775@reddit

I've been in this exact situation this week. I did some research and found the average salary for my role, in my area, and steeled myself to ask my boss (owner) for a raise. He was very surprised 😅 But he said yes! So do a bit of research to see what others in your position are paid before you ask for a chat about it

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Mysterious_Research2@reddit

A typical pay rise these days is anything from "Fuck all" to "The bare minimum we can get away with"

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27106_4life@reddit

£0

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whix12@reddit

Like 2% every year then they go oh wait you can have 3 aren’t we lovely?

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ledow@reddit

Quite simply:

If you get a "payrise" that is equal to inflation, you don't have a payrise. You've stayed exactly where you are.

If you get a "payrise" that's less than inflation, you've taken a LOSS. You're now on less money than you were previously.

That's the same EVERY SINGLE YEAR. 2% payrise in a year with 4% inflation? You've taken a paycut that year. 2% payrise the next year? You're STILL not back where you were 2 years ago. And so on.

Anything above inflation is your ACTUAL payrise, and it should reflect how much they want to retain you. Regardless of whether you've "achieved" anything special in particular, if you want to retain you, they'll give you a payrise. They should be giving you a payrise regardless just to retain you because hiring someone else and training up a replacement is a huge risk and they should recognise that you're in the job, doing it, not costing them money, and don't need to be trained to do your job.

So any payrise MUST be more than inflation, and I'd expect an above-inflation payrise pretty much every years unless something terrible is happening with the business overall.

And I shouldn't HAVE to ask for anything... that should be automatic. Automatic should be a small above-inflation payrise each year, every year, without question, for anyone actually doing their job even vaguely competently.

Last time an employer decided to refuse my specific request for a payrise (after I literally proved them wrong on a number of serious issues they raised with me, so I gave them benefit of the doubt while I was proving them wrong), and they literally insulted me by not even offering to bring it up to inflation level after the event (and I wanted a lot more because I proved that as a single person I was outperforming an entire service provider that they tried to replace me with)... I walked immediately and got a 20% payrise by going elsewhere, and have had above-inflation payrises every year since.

That's what happens in a normal, functioning business. Anything else is your company profiteering and not giving a damn about their employees, while also likely making a LOT of profit. I guarantee you that not one CEO in Britain ever gets less than inflation + a huge percentage increase + bonuses + parks every year, regardless of company performance.

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JHolmesSlut@reddit

I usually ask for 3-5%

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RaymondBumcheese@reddit

You need to work out what your job is worth and ask for it. If the company up the road pay the same role 10k more, ask for 10k more. If you're a junior doing the job of a senior, ask for senior money. You cant just make up a number, research what your peers are on and ask for it.

And, obviously, be prepared to leave to get it.

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lil__chef@reddit

Listen to Mr Bumcheese, he speaks sense.

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griffaliff@reddit

I work for a large local authority as an arborist (tree surgeon), we got a 3.6% raise this year on top of a £1500 raise we get every year for the first five years of service until it tops out at £37k but it'll probably be more annually when I get to that stage.

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SuperTekkers@reddit

Inflation?

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Aggravating-Factors@reddit

There isn't a single answer to your question I'm afraid, mate.

I've had 0%, I've had 40%, and I'm sure people have had everywhere in between those 2 points and more.

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zebra1923@reddit

What he said.

I’ve had pay rises over the past few years of 1-2%, but one year I got 13%. There really is no typical, but I’m always looking for an inflation level pay rise so maybe that is your benchmark.

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Johnnycrabman@reddit

13%? Was that Liz Truss related? That’s what we got 3 years ago, followed by 5.4% and then 4.5% last year.

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zebra1923@reddit

No, way before then. It wasn’t inflation linked, just a random large pay rise when I got a good review one year.

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AltforStrongOpinions@reddit

Yeah, what he said.

You are in prime position for a bump though. Ask for 20%, settle for 15%? I dunno.

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Extreme_Kale_6446@reddit

I think 15-20% if it's been a few years, over 20% if we are talking promotion- more duties etc.

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themcsame@reddit

Idk man... With the amount of jobs that've been caught up by the minimum wage, I'd almost be inclined to say the typical pay rise is the minimum wage going up or less than the rise of minimum wage if you're above it.

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v60qf@reddit

been at a company for 20 years

There’s yer problem.

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Belle_TainSummer@reddit

2% more pay, 200% more work for it.

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Jimmy90081@reddit

20 years, and now you think about this….. damn.

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Consistent-Koala-339@reddit

it would be helpful to know the revenue, profit and activity of the company and your current salary, responsibilities and qualifications. however without that we can make some assumptions.

you say you have been there 20 years, inflation over the last 20 years has been 70% so if you earnt 25,000 in 2005 your should be on around 42,500 now - that would not be a performance/responsibility increase - that is purely inflation based pay rises.

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator

lets look at promotion / responsibility increases (again no info so I take a generic comparison between a Tesco worker and a Tesco shift team leader) Team member 11/hr or 22,880 /year. Shift team leader 15 /hr or 31,200 /year. Thats a 36% rise.

https://www.breakroom.cc/en-gb/employers/tesco/pay

So in conclusion if youve been working there 20 years and you have moved up a single step in responsibility you should be on roughly double what you started on.

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Asylum_Brews@reddit

There's only been one time in my career that I've had a worthwhile paybump without having to move company. The others have either been nonexistent or negligible.

Find an alternate job for the salary you are looking for, secure it, then negotiate with your boss. If the negotiation doesn't play the way you want hand in your resignation.

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tamhenk@reddit

I recently got promoted to dept manager and basically demanded a 40% raise. After a bit of thought they gave it to me. It does help when you're the only person in the place that can do your job. And it is very specialised work.

So yeah. Go for 40%. Sounds like your company can afford it.

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bourton-north@reddit

If your job stays the same and you are competent inflation is the default.

If the business is doing well, perhaps generous management would share more, assuming that a £ profit per employee is rising (this is critical, it’s not good making the % cost of staff rise if sales are rising).

But the main lever is how good you are and important you are. If they can easily replace you it’s tough. If you take a lot offf the plate of those above you and make money and profits happen you have a lot of leverage.

If you are good - and lots of people overestimate this - and you have had much over the years it may be time to ask for a material rise like 25-100%

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Johnnycrabman@reddit

You need to benchmark the salaries for your type of job in your area and take that to your boss. It’s a way of showing that you aware of the local employment market without threatening to leave.

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Conscious_Scheme132@reddit

How it works in the UK is they’ll only offer you a 5% rise. And then when you leave they’ll offer somebody twice as much who won’t have a clue what they are doing.

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BowiesFixedPupil@reddit

Look at what your skills would get you elsewhere. If jobs pay £15k.more than you earn, that would be a good starting point.

Don't do yourself down, many years of running a department or whatever you do is valuable, plus there is value to this company in your experience.

Remember, it's not your job title to search for jobs to see your wage, it's your skillset which may demand looking for roles that sound very senior to your own.

While the business is flying, stake your claim for better pay, don't go asking for 5% or whatever, go with evidence if you like.

You have a good relationship so if he can't pay it, he can explain why not, is it because he wants a new BMW or because contracts aren't getting renewed? Use this information in your negotiating.

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soulsplit80@reddit (OP)

Very wise words. Thank you

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Whisky-Toad@reddit

I worked for my dad for 11 years, learned everything, took on lots of responsibilities and was never given a solid "raise"

I left, shock horror, went the mercenary route, handed in my notice after a year at the first company, got countered offered a bigger salary, kicked off again a year later when I didn't get a payrise on time, got a minimal amount, was on 12k less than my teammate and arguably doing more work, so I left again for a bit more than he was on. Cost them a fortune to replace me.

Been in my current role 1.5 years, had a pretty much inflation pay rise but also a decent bonus at xmas, gonna start chinning the boss up for a bigger one now so he's prepped for xmas.

Oh and I'm on more than my dad ever payed me and I do about a quarter of the hours now and I get to do it all from home.

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ItsDominare@reddit

I was in a similar position a year or so ago (albeit at a much larger company). I asked for 15% and ended up getting 11.2 which I was happy with, although it should be said I'd only been in the role 3.5 years not 20!

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Known-Wealth-4451@reddit

If you’re not getting an inflation tracked pay rise each year, you’re getting a pay cut.

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AffectionateJump7896@reddit

If you are actually getting better at your job, i.e. your first 10 years in it. Then yes. You've gotten better and you're paid, in real terms, less. If you're not getting better at what you do, then it's time to move on.

So in my book, inflation or less = leave.

Either you have gotten better and someone else will pay you it, or you haven't and you need to find somewhere you will.

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TalosAnthena@reddit

The problem is everywhere pays similar in certain fields now. You might be like 20p an hour better off. Is that really worth it

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Known-Wealth-4451@reddit

Yeah it’s definitely harder these days to get a bump. In 2022 I had recruiters DMing me on Linked-In basically weekly with roles. Hopefully those days will return at some point.

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Automatic-Expert-231@reddit

So, inflation doesn’t hit everyone the same way—it really depends on what you’re spending your money on. Like, if you drive a lot, rising gas prices might sting more than someone who mostly works from home. Or if you’re buying a ton of groceries, you’ll feel food price hikes more than someone who doesn’t. Plus, if you’ve got a higher income, you might not notice it as much since you can absorb those extra costs easier. It’s all about your personal spending habits—everyone feels inflation differently.

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Known-Wealth-4451@reddit

I agree with your comment, but it’s interesting that you mention that if you’ve got a higher income you might not notice it as much since you can absorb extra costs easier.

True, I could absorb inflationary costs more than someone at the same company on minimum wage but for me personally, I don’t want to sacrifice my lifestyle just because my employer thinks I can and wants to be stingy with pay rises.

Thankfully job hopping is far less frowned upon these days.

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vanceraa@reddit

True but businesses treat rises in prices the same no matter the industry, so we should expect that too. CPI guides min. wage for example

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BoopingBurrito@reddit

A large part of the question of "how reasonable" the request sounds depends on what you're currently earning. If you are on £30k and ask for £60k, you'll likely not be taken seriously. But if you're on £80k and ask for £110k that would be seen as more reasonable.

You'll want to go in armed with numbers on what value you bring - you say you're responsible for a significant amount of the companies income. Have the exact numbers to hand, and try to be able to indicate how thats down to you specifically rather than the role you're in (ie if they replace you, your replacement would struggle to perform equivalently).

For what its worth, I've twice in my career been given what might be called merit based pay increases - inflation beating increases based on exceptional performance with a view to retaining me as an employee. One of those times was 8%, and the other time it was 6.5%. That was back when inflation was really low. The first was 2014 so inflation was 1.something, and the other was 2016 when inflation was pretty much 0.

They felt good to get, the amount my wage increased by was noticeable but not life changing.

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mrbezlington@reddit

Might help to work out what the contribution to annual profits (not revenue) is for what you do, and compare that to your gross pay. Add 30% to gross for NI / pension etc (if you have one). It will naturally be some kind of multiple, but at least will demonstrate how much cash in the bank you're putting on the table, versus how much you're taking out. Negotiate from there based on how likely you reckon finding a decent replacement will be.

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justareddituser2022@reddit

I get a pay rise any time minimum wage rises. Because its the law.

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Specialist-Piccolo41@reddit

I discovered a secret cartel in Aberdeen

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BarNo3385@reddit

I rarely get above inflation pay rises, and never have once you factor in marginal taxation. Salary growth comes from moving roles / promotions and agreeing base uplifts.

(Based 15+ yrs in a very large corporate).

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Eggtastico@reddit

1) find out the market rate

2) put your offer forward - your loyalty cant be questioned + you have helped built the business through rough times when others have jumped ship

3) you have to leave if told no

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Crooklar@reddit

I always consider at or above inflation to be alright.

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CoolJetReuben@reddit

The bare minimum the annual budget demands in my experience.

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Tarmacsurfer@reddit

Slightly under, if they can get away with it.

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miggleb@reddit

My workplace gave 2% then changed it to 3% and framed it as generosity.

It had been pointed out that due to minimum wage changes, 2% would have been illegal.

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GuybrushFunkwood@reddit

It’s all about a projection of confidence. Recite the “greed is good” speech from Gordon Gekko then immediately put your feet on his desk, casually compliment the photo of his wife on the desk, look him square in the eyes and say “let’s stop sucking each others dicks. What are you going to pay to keep this player?”

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TalosAnthena@reddit

I’m tempted to do this before I hand my notice in lol

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TalosAnthena@reddit

We’ve had some company pay rises in recent years. First year was 8% then 10%. Then this year 7.63%. The 8 and the 7.63% was to just keep us the same margin above minimum. The 10% however was because we had a very successful year. We’re under newer management now who I can’t stand, hoping to leave. I doubt we ever get any pay rises again

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Civil-Fan-3586@reddit

I've been in my current job for 13 years. Had a little pay rises now and then. Last 4 years I didn't get any, but now I got 15%. That brings my pay to quite comfortable level considering pay levels across the similar roles in other companies.

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Baraka_1503@reddit

Mostly 0%. Got one 2% raise in like 2019. Other than that I’ve increased my salary by moving jobs every 3-4 years

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WarmIntro@reddit

Nothing as that's the pay rise you're entitled too and anything above that is them being nice... sadly

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CuriousThylacine@reddit

The biggest payrise I've had that didn't involve changing employer or being promoted was 12%.

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marquis_de_ersatz@reddit

My "usual" has been below inflation for my whole working life so far.

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77GoldenTails@reddit

Niche market; no completion, 20 years of experience and single handedly run a substantial profit centre of the business.

Be greedy and negotiate from there. What’s stopping you branching out and becoming the competition.

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danddersson@reddit

Would they be looking for an IPO? Or being bought? Try and get a piece of that action.

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firemaster94@reddit

A 20% payrise on a shit salary can be worse than a 3% payrise on a great salary.

You're asking the wrong question. You should really be asking what is the appropriate salary for your contribution. Once you have that level, then the starting point for all future pay rises should be for them to increase in inflation unless you have performance issues or the company performance drops.

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baddymcbadface@reddit

How much are you on? How much would you get if you moved? How much damage does it do if you leave? (People tend to over estimate this as others quickly fill the gap).

It's clear they are not minded to be generous so you need to convince them your market worth is significantly higher than they pay you.

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Blackintosh@reddit

A kick in the nuts and a £10 amazon voucher if you say thank you.

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ARobertNotABob@reddit

https://i.imgur.com/rzN0OuG.png

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AubergineParm@reddit

emerges from under my corporate rock<

”What’s a.. a… “pay rise”?”

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No_Cheek7162@reddit

If you haven't had a proper pay rise I feel 50% is a good starting point

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Frap_Gadz@reddit

Typical pay rise will be as little as the company thinks it can get away with. Anything from zero to the stars (probably closer to zero though).

Work out what you're worth, try and find similar roles being advertised and price yourself somewhere above that, if they don't want to pay what you are worth look elsewhere. Take it from me I spent a long time working somewhere stupidly thinking loyalty would eventually be rewarded, it wasn't so I walked and got myself a 40% pay increase for my troubles.

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martin_81@reddit

Annual pay rises if you get one will typically be in the range of 2-5%, if you want more than that you need to negotiate outside of that process. In a small successful company that you've been at for a long time I'd say you should have a good chance of getting anything up to 40-50% depending how your current package compares to market rates. 42% is the best I've had. If you don't get what you think you're worth, getting a job offer from an outside company is the best leverage.

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