PeopleMuster

Salary revision letter format

Salary revision letters record a change to what someone is paid. Increment, restructure or correction, the letter needs an effective date and a breakdown.

Heading
[COMPANY NAME]
Private and confidential
Date: [DATE]
To: [EMPLOYEE NAME], [JOB TITLE]
Employee ID: [EMPLOYEE ID]
Subject: Revision of remuneration

The revision
Dear [EMPLOYEE FIRST NAME],
Following the [REVIEW CYCLE NAME] review, your remuneration is revised.
Effective date: [EFFECTIVE DATE]
Reason: [INCREMENT / ROLE CHANGE / MARKET CORRECTION / OTHER]
Revised gross: [REVISED ANNUAL SALARY]
Previous gross: [PREVIOUS ANNUAL SALARY]

Revised structure
Basic: [BASIC COMPONENT]
Allowances: [ALLOWANCE COMPONENTS]
Variable or bonus: [VARIABLE COMPONENT AND HOW IT IS EARNED]
Deductions: [STATUTORY AND VOLUNTARY DEDUCTIONS]
Net payable: [NET FIGURE]
Arrears, if any, will be paid with the [ARREARS PAYMENT MONTH] cycle.

Closing
All other terms of your employment are unchanged.
Please keep this letter confidential.
[SENDER NAME]
[SENDER TITLE]
Acknowledged: ______________  Date: ____________

Before you send it

  • Put the effective date above the figures. Payroll reads that line first.
  • Show the previous figure alongside the revised one. It saves an email.
  • Say whether arrears are owed and which cycle pays them.
  • Mark the letter confidential and hand it over privately.
  • Send the change to payroll on the same day, not at the end of the cycle.

Questions people ask about this letter

Should a revision letter explain the reason for the change?

One line is enough, and it prevents a second conversation. An increment, a role change and a market correction mean different things to the person reading it, and naming which one it is answers the question they were about to ask.

When should the letter be issued?

Before the revised pay lands, ideally a full cycle ahead. A rise that appears in the account with no letter to explain it causes more queries than a delayed rise that was announced properly.

Does a revision letter need the full breakdown?

Include it where your pay is structured into components, because people check the basic figure against their loan applications and their benefit calculations. A single gross number is fine only where that is the whole of the pay.

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