Aussies urged to ask their boss for a pay rise NOW

Australians are being urged to ask for a pay rise with thousands of bosses set to award their staff a raise, a new survey has found.

The latest Hays Salary Guide, which looks at recruitment and salary trends, surveyed 15,000 workers across 26 different industries in hundreds of roles.

This year’s report found that 86 per cent of employers are looking to bump up the pay of their staff in their next salary review amid Australia’s worsening cost of living crisis.

But employees have been warned not to overprice themselves and ask for a figure well above their qualifications and responsibilities.  

At the same time, the survey found 77 per cent of employees are looking to secure a new job within the next year.

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Hays CEO Asia Pacific, Matthew Dickason, said a rise in the cost of living was the main reason behind workers wanting to leave their jobs in pursuit of a higher salary.

‘We are seeing a trend of employees expecting higher salary increases over the past three Salary Guide reports,’ he said.

He said the latest survey found that 73 per cent were unhappy with their salaries and didn’t believe their pay reflected their performance.

‘When determining the value of a pay rise, employers’ considerations have changed dramatically over the past 12 months, reflecting the current cost of living crisis and the new pay transparency laws,’ he said.

Mr Dickason said factors taken into consideration from bosses before handing out pay rises included individual performance, responsibilities, expertise and how the company is performing.

He warned that employees seeking a raise needed to make sure not to ‘price themselves out of consideration’ by giving an unrealistically high figure.

‘Yes, employers are investing in salary increases, but margins remain tight. The commercial reality dictates that salary increases can only stretch so far,’ Mr Dickason said.

‘Consider the whole package when you negotiate a new job or your next pay rise. Think about what you’d really value and what could make a difference to your life and career long-term.’

The recruitment and salary trend survey also found that 61 per cent of workers expect a pay rise of more than 3 per cent.

Meanwhile, in some good news for the construction industry, the skills shortage is set to be easing.

But in industries such as education, defence and architecture, there are still extreme skills shortages.

Just under half of survey respondents in those industries said they believed skills shortages would have a major impact on their business operations.

‘The extremes of the past few years are stabilising. Skills shortages are easing, inflation is softening and productivity is up,’ Mr Dickason said. 

‘There is a sense of optimism, yet organisations are still cautious.

‘Businesses need to take their foot off the brake and realise the advantages of our new highly skilled and adaptable workforce to drive growth. This is the year for action.’