How often should you get a pay rise in NZ?

• How often should you get a pay rise in NZ?
• When is it common to get a payrise
• How to ask for a payrise

With the cost of living so high, it’s no surprise that many of us are thinking of additional ways to both save money, and up the amount we have coming in.

But even in normal times, having your salary grow over time is, or at least should be, a normal part of working life. But how often should you get a pay rise in Aotearoa New Zealand? And what should you do if this isn’t happening?

If you’re earning minimum wage, you should expect a pay rise every time there’s an increase to this national standard. Generally speaking, the minimum wage in Aotearoa New Zealand increases every year.

However, if you’re earning above minimum wage, there’s no set legal timeframe in which you should expect to get a pay rise, it will depend entirely on the policies and processes in your organisation.

For example, it’s common for companies to conduct regular performance reviews, sometimes at intervals of six months or a year. As well as being an opportunity for your manager to check in on the projects you’ve been working on, these meetings are often designed to provide scope for pay to be discussed. Often, your chances of getting a pay rise during a performance review will be tied to whether you’ve achieved your KPIs (key performance indicators).

There are a few moments that may provide an opportunity for a raise, or at least for a pay rise negotiation, to come about. These include:

• After a promotion: this one’s a bit of a no-brainer, but if you get a promotion, you should expect this to come with an increase to your salary.
• Performance reviews: as we’ve mentioned, pay reviews can represent semi-regular opportunities for pay rises
• Milestones: for example, you might expect a pay rise after a certain number of years with the company.
• After exceptional performance: if you really nail a project, your manager might decide to reward this by giving you a pay rise as a way to incentivise you to stay with the organisation. Alternatively, they might give you a one-off bonus instead.

As you might have picked up by now, relying on getting a pay rise can take a while. So, you might find that you want to ask for one instead.

When it comes to timing a pay rise request, there are a few things to bear in mind:

If you’re new to a role, it’s a generally accepted rule that you shouldn’t ask for a pay rise within the first six months of being in the job. Even then, you’d want to have a pretty strong case for why you deserve a pay rise after such a short time at the organisation.

If you’ve previously had a pay rise request rejected, it’s not a good idea to ask for another one soon after. There will have been a reason why your previous request was denied (for example, because you need to build up a certain skill), and you’re more likely to damage your chances if you simply return a week later having not taken this advice on board.

If the company isn’t doing brilliantly, it’s probably not a good idea to ask for a pay rise. This not only reduces your chances of being successful, but also shows a tone deafness that might hinder future attempts to get a raise. This is why it’s important to pay attention to company announcements or meetings, and to keep a finger on the pulse of your organisation.

Manager just back from a holiday, or straining to reach an important departmental deadline? This isn’t a good time to ask. Remember, negotiating a pay rise isn’t just a conversation between you and your manager. They’ll need to get sign off from their higher-ups and also from the HR team, so this process creates work for them.