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Asking for a raise is easier to prepare for when you separate three questions: Has your work changed? How does your compensation compare with relevant roles? And how does your employer make pay decisions?
A strong case can help your manager understand the request. It cannot guarantee approval. Budget constraints, salary bands, performance assessments, and decisions made elsewhere in the company can all affect the outcome.
The aim is to make a clear, supported request and leave with useful information about what happens next. For remote employees, that includes understanding which location and employment arrangement the company uses when setting pay.
How not to ask for a raise
Relying entirely on personal expenses
Higher living costs can be a reason to review your income. However, a list of household bills gives your manager little information about how your role should be paid.
Connect the request to responsibilities, relevant market evidence, or the employer’s cost-of-living policy if it has one. You can explain your situation without making it the whole case.
Try: “My responsibilities now include [additional scope]. I’d like to review whether my salary still matches the role and the applicable pay band.”
Making an ultimatum you do not intend to follow through on
Threatening to leave can shift the conversation toward whether the company should retain you, rather than how it should value your current work. Employers may match an outside offer, make a different proposal, or accept your departure.
If you have another offer, consider whether you would take it and what would make staying worthwhile. Do not invent an offer or a deadline.
Springing the request on your manager
A passing comment in a team call gives neither person much room to prepare. Request a dedicated conversation and state the topic. For a remote team, choose a time that works across time zones and use the channel your company normally uses for performance discussions.
This does not ensure a favorable response; it creates space to discuss the evidence and approval process.
Treating a pay comparison as a personal complaint
Information about colleagues’ pay can raise a legitimate concern about consistency. The useful question is whether comparable roles are being evaluated consistently, taking account of scope, level, experience, and compensation structure.
Try: “I’d like to understand how my role is positioned in the salary band and which criteria determine placement within it.”
Avoid assuming that two matching job titles represent identical responsibilities. Equally, you do not need to dismiss a possible pay discrepancy simply because it involves a colleague.
Prepare before you make the request
1. Find out when decisions happen
Ask when pay reviews take place, when managers submit recommendations, and who approves adjustments. A performance review may occur after the budget has already been agreed, so it can be useful to raise the topic earlier.
Other reasons to start a discussion include a substantial change in responsibilities, a promotion, or evidence that your role is assigned to the wrong level. There is no universal waiting period that makes a request appropriate or inappropriate.
The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School’s guidance on asking for a salary increase recommends considering organizational circumstances, market evidence, and how you frame the request. These are preparation tools, not a prediction of your manager’s answer.
2. Create a short record of your contribution
Prepare a one-page summary your manager can use when discussing the request with others. Include:
- Responsibilities you now hold compared with your original role.
- Work you completed and the problem it addressed.
- Evidence of the result, with the measurement period and source.
- Relevant feedback or examples of dependable delivery.
For remote work, useful evidence might include clearer documentation, fewer unresolved handoffs, better customer outcomes, or a process that helps colleagues work across time zones. Explain the outcome rather than emphasizing how long you stayed online.
Less useful: “I’m always available and work very hard.”
More useful: “I took ownership of [process]. During [period], [documented measure] changed from [baseline] to [result]. My contribution was [specific action], alongside [other contributors].”
Use real records to fill these placeholders. If you cannot measure a result reliably, describe the responsibility or improvement without attaching a speculative number.
3. Compare the right market
Start with the work itself, not just the title. Match responsibilities, seniority, industry, employment status, location, and compensation components.
For US employees, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ OEWS methodology explains its occupational wage estimates and geographic coverage. These estimates provide context; they do not isolate your employer’s remote roles or establish what a particular employee should receive. OEWS also excludes self-employed workers, making it unsuitable as a direct contractor-rate benchmark.
Use Jobicy’s salary directory to explore country and role comparisons, then inspect each source’s date, methodology, and coverage. Current vacancies with disclosed pay can add context, but an advertised range is not evidence that every employee earns its upper limit.
For remote roles, ask whether the employer uses a global band, country-specific bands, or another location policy. Keep currencies and pay periods consistent, and distinguish base salary from bonus, commission, equity, and benefits.
4. Choose an amount you can explain
There is no single raise percentage that works across countries, employers, or types of adjustment. A merit increase, promotion, market correction, and cost-of-living adjustment address different questions.
The CIPD’s guide to pay structures and progression explains how bands, performance, skills, market rates, and organizational arrangements can shape pay progression. Ask which approach applies to your situation.
State a target salary or a supported range, with its currency and pay period. Explain the evidence behind it. Privately decide which alternatives you would consider, so you can evaluate a counteroffer without rushing.
If you need help requesting the company’s range, see Jobicy’s guide to starting a salary-range conversation.
What to say: email and conversation templates
These are adaptable examples, not scripts with a promised success rate. Replace bracketed text with accurate details.
Email to arrange the meeting
Subject: Compensation review discussion
Hi [Manager],
Could we schedule a meeting to review my current responsibilities and compensation? I’d like to discuss [change in scope or relevant contribution] and understand the process for a salary adjustment.
I can send a short summary beforehand. Would [time and time zone] work for you?
Thanks,
[Name]
Opening the conversation
“Since [date], my role has expanded to include [responsibilities]. My recent work on [project] contributed to [documented outcome]. Based on that scope and [relevant salary evidence], I’m requesting a base salary of [amount and currency] per [year/month]. How does that compare with the band for my role, and what would the approval process involve?”
Pause and let your manager respond. If they question your comparison, ask which roles, levels, or locations the company considers appropriate.
You can rehearse with Jobicy’s Offer Negotiation Coach, using a clearly described employee salary-review scenario. Verify any suggested salary figures against actual sources before using them.
Plan for several possible employer responses
| Response | Useful next step | Example wording |
|---|---|---|
| Approval | Confirm the amount, pay component, effective date, and any remaining approvals. | “Thank you. Could you confirm the revised base salary and effective date in writing?” |
| A smaller increase | Understand the proposal and compare it with your target. | “What determines this amount? Is there room to discuss my proposed salary or review the role’s level?” |
| Budget-related delay | Ask when funding decisions will happen and whether a review can be scheduled. | “When will the budget be reconsidered, and can we put a follow-up date on the calendar?” |
| Performance or scope concerns | Request specific examples and assessment criteria. | “Which expectations am I not yet meeting, and what evidence would demonstrate readiness for a pay review?” |
| No available increase within the band | Clarify progression, role evaluation, or alternatives. | “Is there a route to another level, and what would that require?” |
| Refusal without a clear explanation | Ask for the reason and assess whether further discussion is useful. | “Can you help me understand the basis for the decision and whether it can be reconsidered?” |
A manager may also need to consult HR or another decision-maker. Ask who owns the decision and when you should expect an update.
A refusal may be temporary or lasting. Performance milestones do not guarantee future funding, and a review date is not the same as a commitment to increase pay.
Follow-up email after a delay
Subject: Follow-up on our compensation discussion
Hi [Manager],
Thank you for discussing my compensation on [date]. My understanding is that [reason given or decision still pending].
We agreed to revisit the request on [date], with [evidence or actions] available for review. Could you confirm that this reflects our discussion and clarify who will make the decision?
Thanks,
[Name]
Only describe a date or action as agreed if it actually was. If the manager offered no timeline, propose one and ask whether it is workable.
Decide what an acceptable outcome looks like
Additional leave, a development budget, a different workload, or a bonus may be worth discussing if salary movement is limited. Evaluate what each option means to you. A one-time payment does not provide the same ongoing income as a higher base salary, and a new title alone does not resolve a compensation gap.
If there is no credible route to the pay or responsibilities you want, researching other remote opportunities can help you evaluate your choices. A single refusal does not require an immediate resignation. Consider the explanation, the company’s follow-through, your priorities, and realistic alternatives.
Before the conversation ends, try to establish one concrete next step: a written adjustment, a decision deadline, a scheduled review, or a clear explanation of why the request will not proceed. That gives you a firmer basis for your next decision.
About the author Yuri KoHi 👋🏼 I’m Yuri, founder of Jobicy — a global platform for remote jobs and digital careers. I’ve spent years building hiring tools, career resources, and supporting distributed teams. My mission is to make remote work accessible, transparent, and human-centered. Through my articles and products, I share honest, actionable insights to help people grow their careers and help companies succeed in the modern work environment.
