Request Letter to Employer for Salary Increase/ Pay Raise

When you are expecting a pay raise in your job, either because the salary increment time is past due already or you are working very hard at the job but it's not paying up well or for other reasons, then you can request your boss or the appropriate officer in your organization for a hike in your pay scale.

The letter should be drafted in a way that genuine reasons must come to the notice of the employer that you deserve a pay raise. The letter should be worded cordially. It should not be too demanding, which may irritate the employer.

The following format can be used for writing such letters. You can add additional details about your performance and justification for increase.

TEMPLATE #1

Dear Sir,

I am humbly writing to you to express my dissatisfaction over the pending salary increment. I have been working tirelessly in the ___________ Department of the company for over ___ years now.

I have performed my duties timely to achieve the targets and sometimes I have even achieved beyond expectation. I have worked selflessly as a team member for ultimate growth of the company. In the month of ______ itself, I achieved 200% of my target.

I believe that if you review my overall performance and achievements with careful consideration, you would understand that I am due for a salary increment.

I kindly request you to give me a minimum 10-20% pay raise. I am willing to give any further explanation and reasons to justify my salary increment through personal meetings.

Thank you for your valuable time in considering this.

Sincerely,

(Name of the Employee)

(Designation)

TEMPLATE #2

Date: _________

To

(Name of the Officer)

(Designation)

(Department's Name)

(Company's Name)

Sub: Request for raise in pay scale.

Dear Madam,

I have been working as a (Designation) in the _________ Department of the company since (Month, Year). During this period, I have worked hard sincerely, and have put my best efforts to perform at the level expected from me.

I have diligently performed my assigned duties along with any additional assignments that were given to me due to high workload or work force shortage issues. I have always tried to work as a team player keeping in mind the ultimate success and growth of the company.

I take pride in working for our company. I will be dedicated to my work at all times. I acknowledge with thanks that I have been given an annual increase of ___% in my salary. However, I would like to bring to your notice that with the current cost of living in the city, most of the time, I am falling short of money in keeping up with such high costs.

Therefore, I would like to kindly request you for at least a ___% hike in my salary, which will not only help me in meeting my expenses and help in saving for the future, but also will greatly keep myself motivated during the work for better performance.

I feel my request is reasonable and hope that you would be kind enough to consider it favourably. I shall be highly grateful.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

    (Signature)

(Name of the Employee)

(Designation)

IMPORTART

Do's

(1) As far as possible try to meet your boss or the concerned officer personally and explain the reasons for which you are requesting the pay raise. The submission of a request letter followed by a personal meeting could be beneficial.

(2) The timing of your letter is very important. If you submit a letter during a higher turnover/profit period or just after you got a big sale (fixed an imp. technical issue, invented something new, etc.), then it might materialize. However, if you demand a raise during a loss making period (or if you perform badly), then it might work in a bad way for you.

(3) Sometimes, you can even put in some conditions suggesting that you can achieve a certain target if the raise were to be given to you. The achievement of the target can either succeed or precede your pay raise.

(4) The foremost thing is to justify your salary increment as compared to the responsibilities assigned to you. You can compare the trend in pay scales of the employees in similar posts in other companies in the same industry.

Don'ts

(1) Do not mention too many personal problems (esp. financial) in the letter, which may depict that you are working under a lot of pressure (bothered by personal issues).

(2) Do not compare yourself with any other colleagues who got a higher raise than you did. This may be considered as an insult to the judgement of the officer in charge of appraisal or your boss.

(3) It will not be advisable to give ultimatums in the letter. (If they do not give you a raise, you will leave the company.) However, during your personal meeting you can politely mention that due to cost of living issues you have no other option but to look for jobs, which can pay satisfactorily.

(4) Do not ask for an unrealistic hike in your pay. Your pay raise is justified by what you deserve, not by what you desire. Please ask for a realistic increase in salary.

Last but not the least - when you are meeting your boss to request for a pay raise, please go well-dressed, maintain decency, sit straight, remember your posture and gesture speaks for yourself and try to be as charismatic as possible in your look and talk.