Navigating a Salary Request for My Fiancé: How Should I Approach This Delicate Situation?

Hi Everyone, I am working as a Senior HR Executive in a manufacturing company, and in the same company, my fiancée is working but in a different department. He has some salary issues and he sent an email to me (to HR) requesting an increase in his salary. In our company, all decisions regarding salary increases are made by our Managing Director, and I am feeling hesitant to discuss my fiancée's salary issue with the MD.

Please Suggest How to Manage This Situation

Please suggest how I should manage this situation.

Just be professional. Don't hesitate. Treat him as an employee only and follow the same procedure as you would with another employee. Your management might be aware of your relationship, and they believe that you are professionals. So keep calm, take a deep breath. Forget for some time that he is your fiancé; in the office, you are colleagues only. I hope you will understand. It's not a big issue. I am also working with my husband in the same company and have successfully handled such situations and grievance issues.

Regards

You are a Senior HR Executive, and your fiancé is working in the same company but in a different department. If he had some salary issues, then how come he did not discuss this with you before sending an email? Secondly, emails of this kind need to be routed through the HOD. What are the remarks of the HOD on his application?

I recommend you talk to your fiancé. Tell him that if you involve yourself at this stage, staff in general and the MD, in particular, could perceive that you are advocating for his salary increase. Merely having honest intentions is not sufficient; taking care of others' perceptions is also important. Therefore, let him route the application through the HOD. Let the HOD discuss the matter directly with the MD. Let the matter come to you after the decision of the MD.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Thank you for your valuable inputs, but I am the only one responsible for overseeing all HR matters in my company, and I also assist the Managing Director. Therefore, no one else is involved in this issue. Please let me know if you need any further information.

Thank you.