When you feel like you have worked long enough and hard enough to deserve one.

1) "In my view, all employees should receive a periodic (annual) pay raise in an amount that allows them to keep pace with the cost of living. Staying with an employer should never mean that someone's standard of living goes down every year (and yet that is often the case). That said, you should never offer a regularly scheduled increase for anything else. Additional compensation should only come with: (a) acceptance of more responsibility, (b) demonstration of greater competence, or (c) direct contributions to revenue. In any business, there is a practical limit to what you can pay for a given job. If someone wants to earn more than that, it should be understood that he/she will need to learn an additional skill -- and then use that skill to (1) make your company more money, (2) take over a job that is currently being outsourced (and that currently costs you more money than it would if your own employee could do it in-house), or (3) assume part of the owner's or manager's job (freeing you up to expand your business and make more money). Employees deserve (and need) to keep pace with the cost of living. You risk losing good people if you don't provide cost-of-living increases -- because it's your best employees who can most easily find jobs elsewhere, and will therefore job hop for more money (leaving you with the people who no one else wants to hire). Beyond that annual adjustment, if a person isn't doing more than he/she was a year ago, isn't doing it measurably better than a year ago, and isn't directly making you more money -- then he or she is being paid the right amount. If you have employees who don't want to do more or do it better, then they can probably be replaced (should they quit) without a huge impact. When people are doing much more and doing it much better, your business will be making much more money -- so be sure to reward those workers accordingly." Source and further information: http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/message/27257 2) "To prepare for your request, let’s first examine what you don’t want to do. 1. Don’t expect a raise just because you’ve got a big workload. Most people today are paddling as hard as they can, since companies are short-staffed. Work volume is not a sound rationale for asking for a raise. It is, however, a good reason to increase staff or explore other options such as outsourcing. 2. Don’t expect a raise solely because of your experience level. Although experience helps to determine your salary when you get a job, once you’re on the job it’s less of a factor. For example, let’s say you used to be a supervisor in your old job but the job you have now doesn’t include any supervisory duties. It’s unrealistic to expect your new employer to compensate you for experience that you don’t use extensively. 3. Don’t expect every company-both large and small-to pay comparable wages for a similar set of skills. Although most companies try to pay fair market value for comparable jobs, it can be difficult to keep abreast of what the going rate is. If a small company doesn’t participate in salary surveys or doesn’t have a seasoned human resources specialist they may either under or over pay for a job. 4. Don’t expect a raise just because a colleague across town got one for a similar job. Today’s jobs are less structured than at any time in history and they can be quite different from one another, even if they have the same title. Job descriptions become blurry as more hats are worn. For instance, if you’re on a number of committees and special task forces, your job description will bulge. If the "bulge" in responsibilities shrinks, you would probably lose the case for a salary increase. 5. Don’t expect a raise because of things such as being dependable, having good attendance or having a good work ethic. These things are expected on a job (even though we all know they are increasingly hard to find). Although these attributes can contribute to a merit increase, they still need to be connected to the bottom line results you produce. 6. Don’t expect a raise because of your own living expense needs. Companies can’t use your monthly bills as a reason for giving you a raise. Some jobs warrant more pay than others do, but it is strictly based on what the skills are worth to the organization. Some people feel that their company owes them a "living wage." Can you imagine the mess there would be if people were actually paid that way? (What’s your definition of "living wage"? Is it similar to the person next to you, who has all the credit card bills?) Your best approach is to focus on how much responsibility and authority you have and how much it has grown since you were hired. If you can say that your job size and scope have enlarged significantly, you will be on firm ground when you ask for more money." Source and further information: http://www.joanlloyd.com/Your-Career/Want-to-ask-for-a-raise--Here’s-what-you-shouldn’t.aspx 3) Further information: - "How often should you get a raise or earnings increase?": http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1082909.aspx - "When Should I Expect A Raise": http://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/qst_question.asp?qstID=17594 - "Pay Raise: How much can you expect?": http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/21124-pay-raise-how-much-can-you-expect.html - "What Pay Raise Can You Expect From Your Employer?": http://humanresources.about.com/od/salaryandbenefits/a/salary_savvy.htm - "What is an average pay raise (percentage) and how often should you expect one?": http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080107122024AAsdtYP