Turn a step plan into a raise ask, written or unwritten

Your pay statement is due for a scheduled step increase, but the plan lives in a manager's memory. If the plan is written, your ask is a number: the gap between the promised increase and the one you received. If it is unwritten, your ask is a written rung-by-rung plan with dates and amounts.

A dated step plan is the evidence

A dated plan tells the company what it promised and gives you a rate and a date to hold the company to. That is more useful than generic career advice that ignores the org chart.

Under Amazon's step plan, qualifying hourly workers, whether full- or part-time, receive scheduled raises at six-month intervals through their 24-month anniversary and a further raise at the 36-month mark. Amazon Canada will lift its average hourly base wage to CAD 26.27 on September 27, 2026, from CAD 25.27 in 2025, a 4% year-over-year increase. A full-time Canada operations employee working 40 hours per week would earn more than CAD 54,000 per year on average under the new wage. Amazon is putting more than CAD 78 million into pay increases for Canada operations employees.

Canada's equal treatment wage rules allow a wage-rate difference when it comes from a system based on seniority, merit, quantity or quality of production, or other prescribed criteria. Ask for the date behind seniority, or the evidence behind merit.

The promised level becomes your number

Start with the document: the offer letter, policy page, email, or written plan that states the scheduled increases. The document should show dates and amounts, not a paraphrase.

Calculate the gap between the promised step and the increase you actually received. If the plan said you would move to a higher rate on a set date and your pay statement did not show it, the missing amount is your number. State it as a per-hour or annual figure.

Make the ask in writing. Send a short email to your manager and, if appropriate, HR, with the document attached and the gap spelled out. Request correction by a date, not a vague conversation about your value.

The common mistake is to ask for a raise because you are due, without showing the missing level. That makes the ask about performance instead of documentation. Narrow the ask: the plan said one rate, the pay statement shows another, and the difference is what you are asking for.

An unwritten plan needs a written answer

Ask for the plan before asking for a raise. Say you want to understand the expected progression and request it in writing, step by step, with dates and amounts. A useful reply lists each step, the trigger for each step, and the pay change attached to it. Canada's equal treatment wage rules require an employer to give a written response within 90 days after an employee asks for a wage-rate review.

Ask for the criteria too. Performance-based steps need a definition, a decider, and a review date. Tenure-based steps need a payable date for each level. Put the answer in writing so you can hold to it later.

A missing written answer needs a calendar reminder, with the plan attached.

In Manitoba, employers must issue written pay statements when wages are paid, unless the same pay continues for a stretch and they instead supply a statement listing the amount owed, rate, deductions, and net pay for each date. Manitoba law requires employers to maintain records for each employee, including hours worked and wages paid. If your province has similar record rules, ask for the pay statement and the rate history in writing.

When the company refuses to put the plan in writing, ask what happens if the expected increase does not arrive. Canada's Labour Program can recover as much as 24 months of wages or other sums still due from federally regulated employers. Make the request calm, specific, and in writing.