I am working in a company as a developer and now I'm getting transferred from my home town to some other state which is quite expensive to live in.So I want to know if it's alright to ask for pay hike just because I'm changing location.
And what should be the right way for asking for a pay hike ?
Note:My question is different from This question as I'm already working in a company and I'm being transferred staying as an employee of the company.
I want to know if it's alright to ask for pay hike just because I'm changing location.
Assuming you didn't request the transfer yourself, it's perfectly reasonable to ask for an increase due to the change in cost of living in the new location.
And what should be the right way for asking for a pay hike ?
Just ask.
Something like "Boss. The new location you are transferring me to has a much higher cost of living. I'd like a pay adjustment so that I'm not unfairly burdened in the process." (Ask for an "adjustment" rather than a "raise" - it sounds more appropriate for the context.)
You could even go online to a cost of living calculator site like http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/ (or your local equivalent) so you'll know how much you should ask for if the question arises.
Remember, the fact that you were living with parents and now won't isn't the company's problem here. They may make an accommodation for that, but probably not.
Then listen.
Often, companies have money set aside for such purposes. But sometimes, they expect attrition, and are willing to let folks who don't want to bear the increased costs leave.
You will only know by asking.
Yes it is fair to ask for more money if you are going to be inconvenienced by the move. It is also fair for your boss to say no to any increase.
There are many online resources that can estimate the cost of living in a particular city. You should do a comparison between here and there and come up with a fair difference in $$ that you would worse off in moving. In that way you can say to your boss "Look boss, by making this move I would effectively taking a pay cut of $$ compared to where I am now". This will give you hard numbers with which to negotiate with your boss and will sound a lot better than "Hey boss, I just want more $$".
Also you haven't mentioned you company paying expenses for you to move. This is also something that you should be talking to your boss about.
The only caveat is that it sounds like you are still living at home, in which case (if you are living at home) your boss could counter with how you have already been $$ better off in free rent etc. Personally I don't believe that this is a fair argument, but I am not sure how you would counter it.
A typical example would be, in France, moving from a small town to Paris, where life is notoriously more costly. Increases by 20% are not unheard of. On the other way, people moved from Paris to smaller towns are usually told "don't expect any pay raise for the 10 or 15 next years".
The tough part is to find enough references to provide a basis of negotiation. If it's as common knowledge as in France, it's rather easy. "Everybody" knows that there is a 10% difference between Paris and Lyon, and 20% with most other towns. If it's not as clear in your country, you must find references that stipulate that in your job, life is 12% costlier in average in your target town, compared to your source town. It will be far easier to negotiate a salary adaptation with such references.
