How to negotiate a job offer without losing it

7 minute read · Updated 2026-09-01

Most people accept the first number they are given, and most employers expect one conversation before that. The gap between those two facts is worth a lot of money over a career, and the conversation is shorter and less confrontational than people imagine.

First, know what is negotiable

Salary is the obvious one and often the least flexible, particularly in a business with pay bands or an agency rate set by the client. These are frequently easier to move:

Start date, which costs the employer nothing.
Shift pattern, weekends and nights, or a guaranteed rota published in advance.
Overtime rate or guaranteed hours, which in driving and warehousing is worth more than the base rate.
The first review. "Six months rather than twelve, against agreed measures" is the easiest yes in the whole conversation.
Training the employer pays for: Driver CPC, SMSTS, a forklift ticket, a care qualification.
Holiday above the statutory 5.6 weeks, a vehicle or van allowance, mileage, tools, a phone, or the notice period.

The sentence that does the work

Warm, specific, and it names a number:

"Thank you, I'm really pleased. I want to accept. Before I do, is there any flexibility on the salary? Based on what similar roles are paying and the [licence or experience] I bring, I was hoping for around £X. If the base is fixed, I'd be just as happy to look at [overtime rate, a six month review, the training]."

It works because it says yes first, gives a reason that is not about your bills, names one figure rather than a range, and hands them a second way to say yes if the first is impossible.

Getting the number right

Ask for something you can defend. Look at what the same job is advertised at in your town, on this board and elsewhere, and at what your tickets are worth. Ten per cent above the offer is usually reasonable; thirty per cent without a rival offer usually is not, and it makes the employer wonder whether you were listening.

Never invent a competing offer. It gets checked more often than people expect, and if the employer calls the bluff you have nothing left.

What to do while you wait

Ask by email if the offer came by email, and by phone if it came by phone, then stop talking. Silence after a number is the most useful thing in a negotiation and almost nobody manages it. Do not fill the pause by lowering your own ask.

When to stop

One clear ask, one clear answer. If the answer is no and the reason is genuine, accept gracefully and mean it: "That's completely fair, thank you for looking. I'm in." Pushing a second time after a straight no is where offers occasionally get withdrawn, and it colours your first six months if it does not.

Get it in writing

Whatever is agreed goes into the written statement of employment particulars, which by law you must receive on or before your first day. If the six month review was agreed verbally and is not in the letter, ask for it in the letter. A promise nobody wrote down has a way of not existing when the manager who made it moves on.

See also asking for a pay rise once you are in the job, and notice periods and references before you hand yours in.