Aunty B: My employee just asked for a pay rise and I don’t know how to respond

Dear Aunty B,

One of my sales executives has recently asked for me for a pay rise. They’ve been with our company for around 10 months and while I don’t have any major concerns about their performance until now, I’m not sure that they deserve a higher salary just yet.

To be honest, this is the first time I’ve had a request from a staff member for a pay rise outside of the usual 12-month reviews we conduct. I’m keen to keep this person in the business but I’m worried that if I grant their request now, it will set up an ongoing pattern of them asking for pay rises every few months.