Script 18 · from the Firm & Fair Playbook
How to respond to an employee asking for a raise you can’t afford
Don’t answer on the spot. Tell them you’ll come back with a real answer on a set day, then come back that day and open with what you can do:
“Leah, I took your ask seriously. I can’t do four dollars. I can do one, starting next pay period, and I want to tell you why, and what else I can do.”
Then give real reasons, a dated review, and nothing you can’t deliver.
The situation
Leah has run the front desk at your office for four years. Clients ask for her by name, and the schedule works because she makes it work. Monday after close, she asks to go from $19 an hour to $23 and mentions that Brightside pays $24 for the same job. You can find a dollar, but you can’t find four.
Before you talk
- Don’t answer on the spot. Tell her you’ll come back Thursday with a real answer, then come back Thursday.
- Do the math. Four dollars an hour on a full-time schedule is about $8,300 a year, plus your share of payroll taxes. A dollar is about $2,100. Know what either one means against what’s coming in.
- Check her pay against anyone else doing the same job. If there’s a gap that experience or the work itself doesn’t explain, fix it. If the gap lines up with a protected trait like sex or race, get advice first.
- You don’t owe her your books. You do owe her real reasons, in plain words.
- Decide what you can honestly offer: part of the raise now and a dated review, plus anything that isn’t cash but matters to her, like paying for a course. Offer only what you’ll deliver.
- Pay talk is never the problem. She may know what other people make, and she’s allowed to. Don’t ask how she knows, and don’t ask her to keep her raise quiet.
- Nobody’s being disciplined today. Keep it that way. Her schedule and your tone stay exactly where they were before she asked.
The first words
You“Leah, I took your ask seriously. I can’t do four dollars. I can do one, starting next pay period, and I want to tell you why, and what else I can do.”
What they’ll say, and what you say
They“Brightside pays twenty-four. I checked.”
You“They might. They’ve got eight chairs and we’ve got three, and the insurance companies didn’t raise what they pay us this year. I’m not going to argue the number.”
They“So a dollar. That’s it?”
You“A dollar now. And on March 1st, we sit down again with the numbers from the new hygienist’s days. That’s a real date. It goes on both our calendars today.”
They“I could make more somewhere else.”
You“You might. I’d hate to lose you, and I won’t hold it against you for looking. If something besides money would help, tell me. Some things I can move.”
The Playbook’s full script also covers “Why should I believe March?”, what to say when she names something besides money, and what to do if it turns: if she’s hurt by the number, if she says a coworker who started after her makes more, if she says she’ll leave unless you match.
Never say
- “Keep this between us. I don’t want everyone asking.”Why: Telling employees not to talk about pay runs straight into federal labor law, union or not. Assume she’ll share it, and give an answer you could give anyone in her job.
- “I’ll definitely get you there by spring.”Why: Promise only what you control. If spring comes and the money doesn’t, you’ve turned an honest no into a broken promise. Promise the conversation, not the number.
Write it down the same day
- Tonight: the date, what she asked for and the reasons she gave, what you offered and when it starts, anything else you agreed to, like paying for a course, and the March 1st review.
- Put that date on your calendar before you go to bed. Then keep it.
- If she brought up anyone else’s pay, note what she said and when you’ll get back to her.
The Firm & Fair Playbook
This is part of Script 18 in the Firm & Fair Playbook. The full script has every beat, what to do if it turns, what never to say, and what to write down the same day.
32 conversations, word for word, 18 templates with a filled-in example each, and Quick Cards for your phone.
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See what’s insideQuestions owners ask
How do I say no to a raise without losing the employee?
Don’t answer on the spot, and come back when you said you would. Give real reasons in plain words; you don’t owe anyone your books. Offer what you honestly can: part of the raise now, a dated review, and anything that isn’t cash but matters to them, like paying for a course. Offer only what you’ll deliver. If they mention looking elsewhere, don’t hold it against them.
Can I tell employees not to discuss their pay?
Don’t. Telling employees not to talk about pay runs straight into federal labor law, union or not: it protects most non-supervisory employees who talk with coworkers about pay, tips, schedules or conditions. Assume anything you tell one person about pay will be shared, and give an answer you could give anyone in the same job. Don’t ask how they know what others make.
What if they say a coworker makes more?
Take it seriously and look. Treat it as a complaint either way: how to handle an employee complaint. Check their pay against anyone else doing the same job: if there’s a gap that experience or the work itself doesn’t explain, fix it, and if the gap lines up with a protected trait like sex or race, get advice first. Don’t share or defend the coworker’s pay, and don’t ask how they found out. They’re allowed to know.
What if they say they’ll quit unless I match?
That’s a different conversation, and it has its own script: what to say when an employee threatens to quit.
Related
- “I’ll quit unless…” Your best person has another offer and wants an answer. Answer, but not tonight.
- Cutting hours The work dropped and someone loses hours. Decide how before who, then tell them first.
- The top performer nobody can stand Your top earner is the one nobody can work with: correct the conduct, keep the results.
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The complete first conversation as a PDF to keep, and the full contents of the Playbook. Then four short emails over eleven days: two more hard conversations, the four moves behind every script, and what’s in the full Playbook.
Not legal advice. Practical wording and process guidance for business owners, written for workplaces in the United States. For a specific situation, talk to an employment attorney licensed in your state.