Workers scared to ask for a pay raise

Association of Australia spokeswoman Rebecca Fraser recommended being prepared for an employer to turn down a pay rise request.

If the company could not afford to offer more money, she said workers could instead ask for extra annual leave or education opportunities.

Overall, Australian salaries increased 2.3 per cent in the year to the September quarter, just ahead of the consumer price index at 1.9 per cent, according to the Australian TIME IT RIGHT COMPILE A CASE KNOW YOUR VALUE REMOVE EMOTION CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES SOURCE: Adecco’s Marianna Mood, CDAA’s Rebecca Fraser Bureau of Statistics. Rises ranged from 1.8 per cent in mining and retail trade to 2.8 per cent in health care and social assistance.

The head of organisational strategy practice at Korn Ferry consultancy, Andrew Lafontaine, said that forecast shortages of highly skilled talent in sectors such as IT and health could push up salaries.

“We’ve had low wage growth for a very long time but it may be a trigger for wage growth to go up,” he said.

TAKE THE LEAP: Leave emotion at the door and come armed with facts about your value to your workplace when requesting a pay rise.