Want to know the secret ingredient to successful pay rise negotiation? Preparation!
It's the cornerstone of a confident and grounded approach, ensuring you walk into your negotiations with ample evidence to support your request. Our expert recruiters share six practical salary negotiation tips for employees at all levels and reveal the new data insights behind it all.
1. Research industry benchmarks
Knowing how to negotiate a higher salary starts with current industry benchmarks for your role. Recognised industry reports, such as the Robert Half 2026 Salary Guide, are fantastic resources for gathering real-world insights on role-specific salaries at all levels.
You can hone your research further by using a salary calculator to benchmark salaries specific to your region or local area, too. The foundation of negotiation confidence is having concrete proof and grounded expectations!
Explore our 2026 Salary Guide today
2. Get familiar with the 2026 hiring landscape
Your pay rise negotiations involve more than just your role and your employer — they're also tied to the wider UK hiring market, so it's well worth conducting some research to gain valuable context. For example, our research for the Salary Guide shows that 67% of employers in the UK prioritise candidates with specialised skills and sector experience, particularly in areas related to revenue generation and operations.
Our research also shows that employers are rethinking compensation strategies to attract and keep top talent. Knowing this before you negotiate gives you an upper hand, especially if you can prove you have the specialised skills your employer needs.
3. Explore high-value skills for your industry
Your skill set also has a significant impact on your salary, especially in today's hiring market. In many cases, employers want a comprehensive blend of traditional industry skills combined with digital and AI capabilities.
You can use reports like the Salary Guide to explore the most in-demand skills for your industry and tie them back to your own skill set using performance feedback, certifications, and projects/work you've completed so far.
Read more: Recruitment insights: hiring trends and top skills for 2026
4. Collect evidence of an exemplary performance
Salary benchmarks and proof of in-demand skills are an excellent start to your negotiation, but evidence of exemplary performance is where you close the deal. If you can provide figures for goals and targets you've hit, glowing feedback you've received, and times you've excelled in your role or shown an independent willingness to grow your skills, you're winning.
To be in with an even greater chance of success, tie your efforts back to business outcomes, such as revenue growth, client acquisition, and project success. It's good practice to collect these wins and record them as and when they happen.
Read more: Performance and salary review – how they differ and how to prepare
5. Be prepared to negotiate
Knowing how to negotiate a higher salary is more than simply asking for something and receiving a yes or no answer — it's understanding what a fair offer looks like and recognising that it may not always involve money.
According to our data, employees would consider benefits like extra paid time off (80%), performance-based bonuses (84%), and flexible work arrangements (78%) as alternatives to salary increases. If your employer can't afford an increase but you'd like to stay with them, consider negotiating for perks to sweeten the deal.
6. Know you have options
Sometimes, the confidence to negotiate comes from knowing that you have other options. Our research shows that 68% of professionals believed their salaries increased when they changed employers. Use tools like our salary calculator to find out which regions in the UK are offering higher salary benchmarks for your role and explore potential roles in that area.
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You can also consider transitioning into an adjacent role or sector for a pay increase. For example, an experienced Chief Financial Officer can earn up to £220,500 in the accounting and finance sector, but could increase to £225,000 by moving to the same role in financial services.
You can also consider moving into a more niche role within your sector to take advantage of the premium employers are paying for specialised skills. Whatever the outcome of your negotiation, you've got options!
To learn more about negotiating a pay rise in the 2026 hiring landscape and the salaries and benefits being offered to UK professionals this year, download your free copy of the Salary Guide. You can also access quick, reliable regional salary benchmarking information using the Robert Half salary calculator here. Best of luck with your negotiation!
