The starting salary in an employment forms the basis for your subsequent salary increases. Therefore it is important that you make use of the opportunity you have to negotiate your salary level at the time of appointment.
We can assist you in negotiating terms and salary level at the time of appointment. Remember that you have to contact us before signing your contract!
At the time of appointment, the applicant him/herself can negotiate his/her salary level. The text in the job advertisement is always the starting point for negotiations. In the public sector, announcement texts always refer to the current collective agreement and the applicable pay framework / pay range, ie smallest and highest possible placement for the position. In the private sector, the rules are not so strict. Often the advertisement text just says "salary as agreed."
The job interview is not a bargaining situation, as you have not yet been offered the position. But salary may become an issue during the interview, and we recommend that you consider your desired pay level before the interview, in case the question arises.
The bargaining situation occurs when you are offered the job. When the employer calls and offers you the job, you can inform them that you want to talk about salary conditions in a separate meeting or in a contract meeting, given that salary conditions have not been the subject earlier in the process.
Before you negotiate your salary, you should familiarize yourself with both the pay conditions of this undertaking, and the pay conditions for similar positions elsewhere. Forskerforbundet's salary statistics will give you an idea of what it is realistic to expect. You may also contact the local union representative at the new workplace. You should also think about your own "market value". Do you have other job options that would have been better paid? Do you meet all the skills requirements of the advertisement text? The latter is in this case a good argument for why you should get a salary at the top end of the pay framework / pay range for the position.
Which strategy you should choose depends; on how confident you are that the employer wants you for the position; how interested you are in getting the position; and how important it is for you to get a high salary. Your bargaining chip is that you can turn the position down. If you accept the job before presenting a salary claim, then you have given away your best bargaining chip. But if your reply is that you want the position, provided that you get a certain pay level, you must be prepared to see the employer offer the job to the next person on the list. The best solution would be to have the opportunity to have your salary claim reviewed before you have to reply to the job offer.
The claim should preferably be presented in a dialogue with the employer. We therefore recommend that you present the claim in a meeting or in a phone call. If you present a salary claim, it is an advantage getting the employer to assess your claim before the deadline for replying to the job offer expires.
The conditions you bargain for at the time of appointment can also include coverage of moving expenses, flexible working hours, mobile phone coverage, home office arrangements, skills upgrading programs, and more. Remember that the agreed terms and conditions must be specified in a written contract, signed by both the employee and employer.
Remember that if you are employed by the state, your employer has the opportunity to assess your salary level, and increase it, up to 12 months into the employment period, and when transfering from a temporary to a permanent employment. If you are employed by a municipal or private company, you can ask to have a similar clause put in your contract of employment.
Remember that you are entitled to a written employment agreement/contract. This applies regardless of whether your employment is a permanent position or temporary assignment and regardless of the duration of the employment relationship.
The employment agreement must include all significant information about the employment relationship.
Read more: What should a work contract include?
