A pay rise letter is only as credible as the review behind it. Employees ask why, managers need the method, and finance needs the budget and bands to match. This template sets out the new salary bands, the effective date rules, the reasons for the change and a guide for managers across five pages. The figures show how each increase is calculated, so the conversation rests on evidence.

The sample is for Sandpiper Foods, a fictional food manufacturer with a 3.8 percent merit budget and a 0.6 percent promotion pot from 1 April 2027. Its bands, compa-ratio and gap figures are sample data, aggregated for the whole workforce. Replace them with your own payroll base, survey sources and approvals, and never publish individual pay in the pack.