How to Negotiate a Raise During a Salary Freeze

A salary freeze is a policy, not a law of physics. Companies announce them for real reasons — budget pressure, market uncertainty, restructuring — but they also make exceptions for the people they genuinely cannot afford to lose. Understanding this dynamic is the starting point for any raise negotiation during a freeze.

The approach is different from a normal raise negotiation, and the risk is higher, but it's not futile. The candidates who succeed tend to approach it with more preparation and more patience than a typical compensation conversation requires.

The strongest argument for an exception to a salary freeze is that your compensation is materially below market and that the company risks losing you if it doesn't address the gap. This argument requires actual data: salary ranges from Levels.fyi, LinkedIn Salary, Glassdoor, or Radford for your specific role, level, and location.

Present the data professionally, not as a threat. "I've been looking at market data for my role and I believe there's a meaningful gap between my current compensation and current market rates — I wanted to bring this to your attention because I want to stay, and I want to make sure compensation isn't the thing that forces a change" is honest and constructive.

If base salary is truly frozen, there are other dimensions of compensation to negotiate: a one-time bonus in lieu of a merit increase, an accelerated equity grant or refresh, additional vacation days, remote work flexibility, a professional development budget, or a scheduled compensation review in three to six months when the freeze lifts.

These alternatives are often easier to approve because they don't require changing the salary band or setting a precedent that applies to every role at your level. A manager who wants to keep you has more flexibility in these levers than in base salary during a freeze.

Before you have the conversation, know your answer to this question: if they say no to everything, what will you do? If you're willing to start looking and potentially leave, make sure you have an accurate read on your market options before negotiating — and be prepared to act on your own boundary.

If you're not willing to leave, be honest with yourself about that before the conversation and calibrate your approach accordingly. Negotiating aggressively from a position you won't act on undermines your credibility if it comes out later.