Should you accept a counter offer from your current employer?
5 minute read · 2026-10-08
Accept a counter offer only if money was the main reason you wanted to leave, and the offer is written down, permanent and fixes that reason. If you started looking because of the manager, the hours, the way you are treated or the lack of a future, more pay rarely changes that, and many people who accept find themselves looking again within a year.
Why employers make counter offers
Replacing someone costs an employer a lot: advertising, interviewing, training, overtime to cover the gap, and the mistakes a new starter makes. A counter offer is often cheaper. That does not make it insincere, but it does mean it is a business decision, made quickly, under pressure. Our guide to negotiating a job offer covers the other side of the table.
Go back to why you started looking
Write down the three reasons you applied elsewhere, before you think about the counter offer. Then check each one:
- Pay: does the counter offer match or beat the new job, including shift premiums, overtime rates, pension, sick pay and holiday?
- Hours and shifts: will the rota actually change?
- Your manager: will you still report to the same person?
- Progression: is there a real route up, with a date, or a vague "we will look at it"?
- Workload and respect: has anything been said about the things that wore you down?
If only the pay line changes, you are being asked to stay in the same job for more money. Sometimes that is enough. Often it is not.
Questions to ask before you decide
- "Is this a permanent increase to my base rate, or a one off?"
- "Can I have it in writing, with the date it starts?"
- "Why was this not possible before I resigned?"
- "What changes about the role, not just the pay?"
The answer to the third question tells you a lot. "We have been meaning to review your pay for months" may be true, but it also tells you how long the next review will take.
The risks of staying
- Trust: your manager now knows you were ready to go. Some will hold it against you quietly, for example when choosing who to train or promote.
- Pay compression: the rise may be used as a reason to skip your next annual increase.
- The new employer: if you accepted their offer and then withdraw, you lose that door, at least for a while.
The risks of going
To be fair, moving has risks too: a new probation period, a new team, and less protection while you build up service. From 1 January 2027 the qualifying period for unfair dismissal falls to six months in Great Britain, which narrows that gap, but it does not remove it. If the new job is genuinely better on the things you care about, those risks are usually worth taking.
How to say no
"Thank you, I really appreciate the offer and that you want me to stay. I have thought about it carefully and I am going to go ahead with the move. I will make sure the handover is as smooth as I can make it."
Keep it short. You do not need to justify it, and arguing about why you are leaving only damages the reference.
How to say yes
If you accept, get the new terms in writing first, then tell the other employer quickly and politely. They may have turned down other candidates for you, so a prompt call or email matters. Then commit properly to staying: half staying is the worst of both.
What to do next
- Write down your three reasons for leaving, before the counter offer conversation.
- Compare both offers on paper, including pension, holiday and shift pay. What the work pays helps you check the going rate.
- Decide within a day or two, and tell both sides clearly.
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