To ask for a payrise

[Pantsinthewash]

Any advice or suggestions on the following would be appreciated. I am a legal secretary and last autumn was approached by a firm I used to work for with a part time job offer. At interview they said "Salaries are reviewed in the summer." I started on £13 ph and did not receive a salary increase in the summer. Since starting this job I have had to assimilate a completely new area of work which is quite specialised. Separately,I have also had to learn their new IT system and get myself back up to speed with another area of work I last did 10 years ago. I've also worked additional hours and very flexibly, particularly over the summer, to cover other colleagues' annual leave and other absences. Whilst I still have more to learn, obviously, I know more and can do more than I did a year ago. I spoke to my manager about my disappointment regarding being overlooked on the salary review and she said she would look into it. I've heard nothing more. To be honest, it sticks in my craw a bit that they have enjoyed the benefits of a flexible employee in times of need - annual leave cover for other staff, and yet I am still on the same money as a year ago, having developed my skills in the meantime. What do you all think? Am I expecting too much? What should my next move be?

Present the information like a business case. For example similar jobs to yours with your experience and skills earn x per hour. Point out the training and investment cost if they have to replace you.

At the same time update your CV and start looking for new jobs. I now realise why some people move jobs regularly, it’s to get a pay rise as that is the best time to negotiate.

Many companies have a salary review at a set time of year
You often have to be with that company for a set time to be in that review (our company is 6 months). If you miss it, you miss it and you will be included in the next one.

This means someone at my company may be pretty much 1.5yr before their first pay rise.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it. Interesting to read that in some companies people have to wait for the next salary review and that this could be a wait of 18 months. It's helpful to know what goes on in other firms. I've printed off some adverts so I'm going to give some thought to continuing the conversation with my boss.

Getting back up to speed and learning an IT system isn't a favour you did them. More like the other way round as you were less productive while learning.

Focus on the new skill you gained in this specialised area - unless this was also something that was a baseline requirement of the role but took you a while to achieve.

What are other legal secretaries with your experience earning?