How to succeed in salary negotiations – experts’ tips for employees
Article
Topics
- Labour law
- Legal assistance
- Salary
Salary negotiations make many people nervous, even though they are a natural and important part of working life and career development. When should you ask for a raise, how can you justify it, and what are your rights as an employee? Kirsti Paloniemi, who has worked in salary matters for over 30 years, answers these questions. Read also the important points raised by Taija Numminen, YTK Worklifes chief legal counsel.
The job advertisement asks for your salary expectations. What should you put there?
The first step is to find out the salary level in your field. You can use the collective agreement for your field, which lists salary categories and minimum salaries. All collective agreements are available on Finlex.
– Look up the salary level for your profession and add a little flexibility to your request. This will give you some room to negotiate downwards, advises Kirsti Paloniemi.
Another option is to present your salary request as a range, for example, 3 200 – 3 500 euros. If your situation is unusual—for example, due to a change of field or long-term unemployment—it is worth mentioning that the salary is negotiable.
– The salary agreed at the beginning of the employment relationship often determines the level for up to a couple of years, so this moment is important, Paloniemi reminds us.
When is it appropriate to request a raise?
The first ideal moment for this is when signing the employment contract: a review point can be agreed upon, for example, after the probationary period.
It is also natural to bring up a raise when your job description changes or your responsibilities increase.
– As a very rough general guideline, I would say that you can ask for a raise about every 2–3 years. There are often general raises in between, so there is no need for constant negotiation.
How should you justify a pay raise?
The most important factor in determining salary is the level of difficulty of the job. If your job description has expanded or your responsibilities have increased, this is a clear justification for a raise.
Another important factor is your own skills and success.
– A pay raise should be justified in concrete terms: where you have been successful, what you are good at, and how you add value to the organization, says Paloniemi.
Simply having spent years in a particular job or with a particular employer is not usually sufficient grounds for a raise, unless the collective agreement for the sector includes experience-based raises.
Nor are increases in your personal expenses, such as higher loan interest rates or rent, usually sufficient grounds for your employer.
How should you discuss a pay raise?
First, find out who makes the decision: is it your immediate supervisor or someone else? Prepare your arguments carefully and request a meeting, for example by email.
– Although it is often said that performance reviews are not salary negotiations, I think it is perfectly okay to bring up the issue of salary at the end of a performance review.
However, there is one thing you should not do: blackmail.
– Threatening to leave leaves a bad impression and may affect how your employer views you in the future, Kirsti Paloniemi points out.
What is an appropriate amount for a raise?
There is no universal answer, as starting salaries and the grounds for salary increases have a significant impact on this. However, according to Paloniemi, a raise request of around 5–10 percent is a realistic starting point in many situations.
What if a pay raise is not granted?
According to Paloniemi, in this case, it is worth asking for the reason.
– Is it due to the company’s financial situation, or is it because the justifications are not sufficient? It is also worth asking how this could affect your own salary in the future. What should you do to make a raise possible in the future?
It is also a good idea to monitor the financial situation of your own organization: if the outlook is poor, it may be wise to wait for a better time to ask for a raise.
Lawyer’s Top 3: Consider at least these points in salary negotiations
1. All salary agreements in writing
Salary agreements – both employment contracts and subsequent increases – should always be documented in writing.
If a salary increase has been agreed for the future, for example after a probationary period, it is particularly important to record this. The clearest approach is to record a specific euro amount immediately, rather than just talking about a salary increase or review at a later date.
2. Salary transparency clarifies negotiations
National legislation on the EU’s salary transparency directive is still being prepared, but it will improve salary transparency during the recruitment phase. This information will be included in the Equality Act, which will require employers to provide job applicants with information about the starting salary or planned salary range for the position they are applying for, based on objective and gender-neutral criteria. This will hopefully make it easier for job seekers to negotiate their salaries in the future.
3. Same pay for the same work – unless there is a valid reason for a difference
According to the Employment Contracts Act, employees must be treated equally. This means that people doing the same or equivalent work are entitled to the same pay, unless there is a valid reason for a difference in pay.
Acceptable reasons include experience, skills, education, or language skills, which are precisely the factors that should be used to justify a request for a pay raise. On the other hand, gender or age, for example, are not acceptable grounds for paying different wages.
Lakikaveri is here to help!
s a member of YTK Worklife, you can get quick and expert help from Lakikaveri in tricky situations at work. Don’t struggle alone if you have questions about your pay or employment contract – just reach out to Lakikaveri.