Seeking resource for salary related letter format

Question

I hope this is the right site for this question. If not, please direct me to the correct one.

I am looking for help to provide feedback to someone on a letter they have drafted. I have found it tough to search for a comparable format on Google because it overlaps with other kinds of letters.

This letter in context is along these lines: A certain amount of money started as a stipend for something that was not part of the main job description. But over time the responsibility has been effectively added to the main job. So the person wants to request that the stipend be moved over to be part of the main salary since the work is now part of the main job.

When I tried to search for examples or advice on such a letter, I got results about cover letters, asking for raises, expressing salary requirements and so on. But this is not quite those - no raise is being asked for, just a change in how the money is treated.

Aside from the minor grammatical feedback that I tend to give, I would like to review the draft for the bigger picture to make sure the letter is effective and does not include deal-breaker lines that would imperil the request.

Answer 1

This might belong more in "The Workplace". If you're looking to review the "bigger picture" the first question that should be answered is why this letter is needed in the first place. Is HR asking for this letter? If the employee is providing this without prompt, this might end badly for the employee.

Some things to keep in mind when creating a letter like this. Why was this a separate stipend in the first place? Adding this responsibility to the employee's core job responsibilities may mean that HR would have to rework the job title and expectations of someone in that role. Depending on the size of your company, this could be a huge undertaking. HR and/or the manager may want to avoid this, as it requires quite a bit of work. Companies generally spend a long time calibrating job titles/roles/responsibilities to ensure they are fair and accurate against industry/market standards.

If you're truly just looking for a form letter to follow for something like this, unfortunately that might be considered opinion based as the only person/people who would truly know what works best for your company, would be HR. In all actuality you should interface with them regarding this request, prior to submitting anything. If you already have and they stated that it was simply up to you/the employee to come up with something, following a "request for a raise" template might be best. In all actuality that is exactly what is being requested. You may call it a stipend right now, but from a manager's point of view, it's really a non-title based raise, similar to a merit increase.

Since this was asked 05/2016, I would be curious at the outcome of this letter. Was the employee successful in adding this to their role/salary or was the task kept as a stipend?

A final note, a task that is supplemented by a stipend is easier to transfer from employee to employee regardless of role. Whereas something that is inherent to a role will have to be considered when hiring future employees.