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I'm in college for Human Resources and haven taken several HR courses with Pryor. One thing that has stood out was that if a potential or current employer made a clear, specific promise (verbal or written) that you’d receive a bonus, position, etc. for meeting certain conditions, that could form the basis of an implied or expressed contract. Also, if the terms changed after you met the original conditions, that may qualify as bad faith or breach of contract. Meaning you could sue them if you chose to.
The actions that were taken by your manager were wrong. Behaviors such as those impact morale and set the tone that she is not a woman of good character/integrity because she consistently doesn't keep her word.
I hope you follow the advice of some of commenters and start writing things down. You can never over document. Interesting enough, they say you can't record conversations without notice of the recording. However, if you don't inform the other party, you can only use the recording to prove they have lied.
I wish you luck with your next steps.
Based on what you’ve shared, there are serious concerns about the fairness and transparency of your employer's conduct.
If a pay raise was promised upon completion of specific conditions—particularly if that promise was made in writing or confirmed verbally in a way that created legitimate expectation—then retroactively changing the conditions or dismissing the agreement may constitute a breach of implied contract or misrepresentation.
Here’s how you might approach this:
Gather Evidence: Compile emails, meeting notes, performance reviews, or messages that reference the original pay raise conditions. Also document how you met those criteria.
Request a Formal Meeting: Engage your manager or HR in a structured conversation. Frame it professionally: “I’d like clarity around the pay progression expectations that were laid out when I joined. I fulfilled the agreed-upon conditions, and I’d like to understand why the terms seem to have changed.”
Put It in Writing: Follow up the meeting with a written summary reiterating your understanding of the original agreement and the steps you’ve taken to fulfill it.
Escalate Thoughtfully: If you receive vague or shifting responses, you may need to escalate to HR or internal employee relations. This could involve filing a formal complaint based on breach of trust or broken commitments.
Legal Consultation: If internal remedies don’t resolve the issue, seek legal counsel to review your employment contract and correspondence. Your situation may warrant a formal legal letter or negotiation.
Bottom Line:
Employers cannot dangle incentives and move the goalposts without clear documentation and justification. You're not being difficult—you're protecting your rights and holding leadership to its word.
Get it in writing next time. I don't mean to be harsh, but verbal isn't binding in these conversations, and if you don't have something in writing it ends up just being their word against yours. So next time, ask for an official document to back up their promise.
It can be difficult to get more money when the company is actively working against it. Meeting multiple goals and still having the post moved isn’t a good sign. Hopefully, they can be more transparent, because my confidence wouldn’t be high at this point.
Hlw
I have had this happen before. Iwould go to your manager and tell them you would like the raise that was promised to you. If they don't give it to you then start looking for something else.
Obviously she not playing fair, wanting keep it try get herself a bonus. I would start looking again especially after 2 times they won't give any raise until they know your leaving.
I would ensure none of the agreed on projective dates were ever met again and definitely be looking for a job
Mentor
I would negotiate and have a conversation about how important the pay increase is to you and why you think it’s deserved. I think it’s a bit shady for them to go back on their word too…