When Should I Ask for a Raise After Sudden Changes?

Question

I am wondering when would be an appropriate time to discuss increasing my compensation.

I recently transitioned into a new role, where I am taking over for an coworker who is retiring at the end of the month. This retirement came as a surprise to our team, and so I am filling in after one month of training. For comparison, I was supposed to be trained in the role for two years before taking over.

In title I have the same job (very flat corporate structure), however with this new position come a lot of new responsibilities: being on-call, project management, and generally having less direct support from my team than I used to. Because of the retirement, these responsibilities are coming all at once, rather than gradually, and I believe I should be compensated for this sudden increase in responsibilities.

For some context, though, I received a small (~5%) pay increase at the end of last year, which was before I was thrust into this new role. I have been working with this company for 4 years, and hired on full time last year. Additionally, I have had mental health issues the past few months. I have kept my supervisor aware of these issues, and been proactive about receiving treatment. However, I still received a verbal warning about a month ago about my attendance patterns, to which my mental health attributed. I have not missed my deadlines or under-performed as a result, but clocking my 40 is more important 🙄 I have since filed for temporary FMLA to cover for my doctor's visits and such.

When is a good time to ask for raise? I'm taking on the responsibilities of a senior engineer. So far I have been successful in this transition; I am well qualified for the role. I'm just worried my recent "raise" and mental health problems (illegally, of course) might be brought up to discredit me.

I have been in this new role for two weeks. Should I discuss compensation now, a month out, or more?

Answer 1

My answer would be in about 6 months.

My reasoning for this is that you have just had some health issues, which you have informed the employer about, which is very good, but you wrote:

I still received a verbal warning about a month ago about my attendance > patterns, to which my mental health attributed.

Which means, that this event is still fresh in their minds. And if you ask for a raise, this will most likely come as a counter argument. I would say that you need to show them that you are an employee to be trusted. Trust is one of the most important aspects when it comes to a employee/employer.

Not missing deadlines is one thing, which is good for trust, but they also need to know that you will be there when they need you.

You build trust by showing that you are available, and that you can perform the tasks they give you no matter how difficult.

With this new position, i would say that you should show them that you are someone that can be trusted to step in, take responsibility, and show them for a while that when things matter, you are there for them.

So i would say, after 6 months you can talk to your closest superiour and explain to him why you deserve a raise and how you have handle the situation the past 6 months.

But remember, you also need to really be a good emplyee during this time. No more verbal warnings.