To ask for a pay rise?

[Hellobellomarsh]

I got a new job a month before lockdown. Before I accepted the job I asked if the salary was negotiable. They initially offered 25k I asked for 27k we met in the middle and was told that salary will be reviewed after 3 months. Then obviously shit hit the fan with the whole Covid situation and I was furloughed 5/6 weeks after I got the job.
I have been back and working full time for 2 months now and I am thinking once I have been back for 3 months I will be asking my boss to review my salary. Is that foolish? It’s a small company and I don’t believe Covid has massively set us back... I’m working very hard and trying to do my job well. I have been getting really good feedback from both my colleagues and clients and feel like I’m settling in well. I could really do with the extra money ( as I’m sure everyone else could ) and I know that the person before me was useless and didn’t take her job seriously yet she was getting 27k. Should I ask or not?

I think you should ask as that was what was promised.
I think you need to think about what you are asking for, what you are prepared to accept and what you will say/how you will behave if they say no.

I'd still ask but if they say they can't afford it now due to Covid I'd say "that's fine, I understand, when would be a better time to re-review?"

I feel like if I don’t ask I’ll never get... got to give it a go but obviously will prepare myself either way. I want to stay with the company but I also want to earn what I deserve. I know the woman before me got more and there has been so many complaints about her it’s unreal.

I’m only asking as I was promised when I accepted the job that my salary would be reviewed after 3 months!!!

I wouldn't ask. I just don't think it's appropriate yet in this circumstances. I'd wait until the end of the year. You'll have had more chance to prove yourself by then. Focusing on what your predecessor did won't help.

@Hellobellomarsh

I’m only asking as I was promised when I accepted the job that my salary would be reviewed after 3 months!!!

Promised because you pushed for it after negotiating a hire salary than was offered for the role that you applied for.

I think yabu. And probably need to ride out covid and prove yourself.

@Hellobellomarsh there is a percentage of mumsnet that is a bit weird about asking for payrises!

I’m in HR: my advice, definitely ask. Put in a 3-month review meeting (or probation review meeting if that specifically applies) to talk through your performance etc. They may say that due to the exceptional circumstances around Covid they can’t accurately review your performance despite it having been 3 months, in which case come to a more mutually agreeable time to review again (another 2-3 months, say).

But definitely ask!! 3 months was agreed, so 3 months it is. Have the conversation at least. The amount of times I’ve had to nudge underpaid women into asking for money they deserve based on their role and performance...

How long is your probation? Could you use that time as a reason to ask?

I'm in the same position. And same salary fullnily enough. But the business I work for is making redundancies. I am safe but I don't think I could broach the topic of a pay rise just yet. I am going to see if I'm still in a job and then ask after xmas.

So you're currently on 26k and want to ask for 27k?

How confident are you that Covid hasn't set the business back? If you were furloughed then there must have been some material impact to the business.

It's only £1k so in the grand scheme of things really not much - it's no harm to ask about it, but you do risk it not being received well if there's any jobs at risk or if the business has been impacted. And they may be more likely to say no now, when if you sat tight for a few more months you might have better success.

If you have an end of probation review or similar that might be a good time to bring it up.