11

I am currently working with a contract that is one and a half years long (as a software engineer). When I interviewed for my position I was offered a 7-7-8 contract system with, if everything goes well, a contract of indefinite duration after that.

​I am pretty content with the starting salary I was given but I was promised a raise with each new contract. So a raise after 7 months then after another 7 months and so on.

​After the first contract of 7 months was over I had a conversation with my boss for the new contract. My boss told me everyone was very happy with my performance and wanted to give me a 1,5 year contract and give me that contract of indefinite duration after that to show me his gratitude. And I got a regular raise with that.

​Now that my 1,5 year contract is almost over I am thinking that the boss actually didn't give me a raise in between because it wasn't a 7 months contract. Could this have been deliberate move?

Now with the next performance evaluation (and hopefully getting that permanent contract), is it normal that I ask for a "double" raise? Because essentially, I didn't get the one that was promised to me 7 months ago since I got a longer contract.

Improve this question
3
  • 2
    Possible duplicate of How should I properly approach my boss if I'm feeling underpaid?
    – gnat
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 14:40
  • You skipped the risk of ending the contract after 7+7, and earned assured employment for full 18 months thereafter, (3 months more than what was discussed earlier) - don't you think that levels out the missing increment?
    – Sourav Ghosh
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 14:51
  • "My boss told me everyone was very happy with my performance and wanted to give me a 1,5 year contract and give me that contract of indefinite duration after that to show me his gratitude. And I got a regular raise with that." Were they actually doing this because they were happy with your work or because they didn't feel your work was worth the extra upcoming raise? Just checking...
    – user541686
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 23:33

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
17

Should I ask for an extra raise?

Yes, definitely ask. However, if I were you I would not worry about past raises. I would focus on what you are currently worth, and in particular what are you currently worth to the company?

There are many sites you can use to get the average going rate for your skill set and experience. Come to the discussions about your salary armed with data to back up your request to get paid what your worth.

They key here is to have facts to back up your request for a pay increase.

Improve this answer
3
  • 11
    Not to mention, by accepting the 1.5 year contract and not negotiating anything regarding the former 7-month raise schedule, the OP has essentially agreed to take the long term contract instead of the prior arrangement. The "missing" past raises are settled at this point.
    – Upper_Case
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 14:30
  • @Upper_Case You're right, I did agree. I realised this would mean I miss a raise a few months in. A definite mistake on my part.
    – Noobetst
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 14:36
  • 4
    @Noobetst I'm not saying that to slam you, but rather to shape your future actions in a practical way. Discussing the raises you've "missed" would be a mistake because you freely chose to forego them, and that matter is closed. You can, and should, still consider yourself to be worth what the employer was willing to pay under the initial agreement-- you just can't use that deprecated agreement as an argument for why you should be paid more now.
    – Upper_Case
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 14:49
10

I disagree with the other answer encouraging to ask for extra raise.

is it normal that I ask for a "double" raise?

No, it is not.

  • Initially, you were supposed to have your employment and salary reviewed and revised after 7th, 14th and 22nd month, and if things work out, indefinite contract thereafter. So, there was a risk (however small that is) of you losing the job after any of the reviews.

  • After the 7th month, you were offered a job security for 18 months (skipping the 14th month review and adding 3 more months overall, totaling 25 months) before getting the indefinite contract.

  • You accepted the revised contract.

Thus, by law, you gave up the previous arrangement for a later revised arrangement, and a mid-term salary revision was not part of the new agreement. So, technically, you did not lose / miss anything, you just negotiated new terms for the contract.

Given that things finally worked out well and positive, you can go ahead and ask for raise in the next performance evaluation, but do not bring the angle of missed hike, you never missed any, you were not entitled to one.

In terms of the paycheck amount, you can negotiate for an amount which you can estimate based on the first contract terms (if that satisfies you), but you should never mention anything about a missed increment.

Improve this answer
1
  • @Noobest - You will have to decide how important these raises are. I agree with others that by accepting the longer contract, your prior agreement about raises is sort of moot, new discussions will have to be made now that an permanent contact is on the table (best time to do that is before you sign it). It seems you didn’t discuss a salary adjustment when you signed the 18 month contract.
    – Donald
    Commented Jun 6, 2019 at 15:30
1

As Mister Positive mentioned you cannot call it a double raise. It should be a regular negotiation regarding your compensation going forward with a contract.

Make sure you know your worth to the company and overall in the market.

Given its going to be a permanent contract, it should have periodic performance / compensation review in it.

Improve this answer
1

Remember contract Jobs are created for negotiations and cost cuts.

If you believe you performed well and they need you - they have a bunch of work on the plate for you, you should definitely give it a try. Most of the companies create Contract jobs to save money of extra perks and do successful cost cuts, and I believe you wouldn't like to be a victim of this game.

They liked you and gave you 1.5 years of the contract to save money on your raise, cost involved in the search for a new candidate, work suffered, time involved, etc.

It takes time to train a new person in the team and you can raise this in your conversation. Every boss, when it comes to pay, want to show themselves generous enough to prove they are paying you beyond your capabilities which is not true.

So, go ahead and ask for what you think you deserve.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .