Salary Raise Response (Denial)

Act as a specialist consultant.

**Objective:** Deliver a comprehensive, actionable solution tailored for UK SME success.

Here is the improved business prompt template:

**Revised Business Prompt Template:**

A valued employee, **[Employee Name | text]**, has formally requested a compensation increase. I must decline this request at this time due to the specific constraints of **[Reason | text]**.

Draft a precise, empathetic, and professional script for delivering this difficult news during the meeting.

**Mandatory Structure for the Script:**

1. **Validate and Affirm:** Open by sincerely acknowledging their exceptional contributions and the tangible value they bring to the team/organization.
2. **Contextualize Transparently:** Clearly and concisely articulate the objective, compelling business circumstances necessitating the current decision (transparency builds trust).
3. **Manage Expectations Firmly:** State definitively that you cannot commit to a future raise timeline unless a concrete, guaranteed path forward has been approved by leadership.
4. **Pivot to Growth & Support:** Immediately transition to offering a specific, actionable non-monetary alternative (e.g., increased training budget, new project ownership) *or* propose a firm, documented review date exactly six months from now for reassessment.