First of all, if you want a raise in pay, never do it though text or media, way to impersonal. Face to face, so you can clearly articulate why you think you deserve this raise. Just my opinion.

Tell them you got a better offer elsewhere and you need the money but you'd rather keep working with/for them because you like them.

Yeah, it has to be face to face. Basically just say what you have written here and be polite and complimentary. It's also a good idea to know what size of a raise you require. If you don't know you don't deserve one ;)

@ssorenn: That's kind of tricky because, now the holiday ended, they probably expect me to text them to agree on when I'll be teaching this year. To do it in person, I would probably have to 'set up a meeting' with them first or already mention that I'll want to negotiate a raise when I get there, since, you know, if I agree to teach at some point, come to their house and then want to talk about a raise.. Seems weird to me anyway.
I'd love to hear your solutions there though. I agree that in person would probably be more desirable but in this case, the circumstances would just be worse I think..

@Hellenic Riot: That would be two lies. I'd rather stay honest. Especially since I get the customers through school and school would therefore know whether I got another offer..
Really though, honesty is kind of my thing when I'm not in a diplomacy game. I'd like to remain the guy that you go to if you need an honest answer.

Are you asking for a raise because you're worth more money or only because you don't enjoy it enough for what you're getting paid?

@Octavious: See what I said to ssorenn. Also, I'm guessing you mean I need to know my minimum raise? I know the raise I'd be gunning for, since aforementioned school sets very reasonable artificial limits to the wage to, you know, make sure we're not ripping people off or doing it just for the money.. So I'd be gunning for the upper limit.

@abgemacht: Well, because I'm too busy to get paid what I get paid now, so I guess the second option. I think I got the point you're trying to bring across there.

If this has been an on going relationship with some students and now school is starting, you probably should have addressed this a month ago. There's no problem using media to set up a time for negotiation, but with school at hand, and no previous word from you, all involved are assuming the status quo has not changed. It is still better to have this conversation in person or at the very least by phone call. Be straight forward and don't lie. They might say no and find someone else, but you can live with your integrity.

If you aren't satisfied with your job at your deserved salary, I'd suggest you look for another job, because a little extra money is unlikely to bring you more enjoyment.

To be clear: that's the reason. I would think I'm worth more as well (and the math to teach got trickier as all the children I'm giving lessons to passed the year (yay!), so in that sense there would be less 'qualified' people, supply and demand etc..), but that's not why I'm asking a raise. I can of course use those arguments to justify the raise though.

As a person who deals with providing raises - the only reasons I would consider giving an employee a raise (outside of routine COLA) are an increase in responsibility or skill, or some sort of change that makes that employee more valuable to the company.

The person thinking they deserve more money for their time is not on my list of reasons. Everyone thinks they deserve more money for their job.

Especially with it being this late in the ballgame, another thing to keep in mind is many organizations (mine included) have set time frames for when raises are handled and can be negotiated. If an employee waits until the last moment, it can frequently be too late and will require a lot more reasons, justifications and approvals from higher ups to enact the change - making it much less likely of getting approved

I 2nd all the opinions on not lying. It's not worthwhile to burn bridges and sully yourself.

Understand your market though, I'm not sure what age kids your teaching, but if there are others out there that get similar results at the same price your currently at, you will find yourself with no income because everyone will find the cheaper price. Don't shoot yourself in the foot over greed

The parents of the children pay, FYI, not sure whether that is relevant to the solution (except that I'd need to convince the parents of course, who will also care less about €2/hour more I suppose).

We're talking about one digit per hour here, to be clear. Just in case you're thinking I get paid quite a bit more.

@steephie, it doesn't matter how much more. Unless there has been an increase in your ability to assist the children with their work then you don't deserve more. If you're going to have to spend more time on it because they have more work this year then use that as your reasoning, and that would probably be considered valid. But wanting more money because you consider your time more valuable isn't a justifiable reason besides simple greed. Hope that helps.

^What jmo said

Wait, from what I'm understanding you tutor kids and set your own prices?

If that's the case, I don't think what people are telling you here is all that relevant.

actually, i think what i have said is quite relevant

If you are a tutor just say my rates have gone up, unless you are on contract try to push the price point and see if they stay on or go to someone else

Waiting until the start of school to raise prices, just because he wants more money, is not the best thing to do, imho

Unless he's underselling himself. There's no reason to charge below value if you don't have to. Of course, I don't know how much the going rate is for someone like him but the point is that this isn't asking for a raise. It's setting a price for your services.

You're right though, would've been best to do this a month ago.

Yeah I suppose it's setting a price rather than asking for a raise. I haven't made any agreement about this year yet.

For the record, a month ago I wasn't busy and I didn't know I would be busy now.

I think the start of school is the best "Ive taken on new clients who are willing to pay me more. As a result I'm going to be raising prices next month on October X

you're just risking people leaving.

Or just "Due to an increased workload I am raising my rates, it will go into effect October X"

I would do this semester at the current rate, and inform your students that you are raising rates for the next semester. Don't think it's fair to jack prices up on students\families in the middle of a school year. If you're good at what you do, the students will come back and be willing to pay the slightly higher fee.

I want to give the people a say though. When the prices were first agreed upon, I didn't feel the need to immediately go for the highest I could get, so I basically said something along the lines of 'Of course, I like the top limit better, but I'll take the bottom limit too.', giving them the choice essentially, allowing me to probably come across as a nice guy and one that doesn't do it for the money, both of which are true I think, and it also caused them to give me a bit above the bottom limit.

I'm treating this more like a dedicated tutor than a bussiness man, and I'm trying to bring that across as well. Just truthfully saying that I'm busy so I still want to do it but in all honesty, it's not really worth it in terms of money at this rate. Would that work?

and 2 dollars will make it worth your time?

What are you currently being paid and what do you want to be paid?

I would do this semester at the current rate, and inform your students that you are raising rates for the next semester. Don't think it's fair to jack prices up on students\families in the middle of a school year. If you're good at what you do, the students will come back and be willing to pay the slightly higher fee.

agree

I think some clarity in the arrangement is needed. It sounds like you work for an agency of some sort, and you work for an agreed upon amount? So you can't just set your own prices as a tutor and be done with it? How frequently do your rates adjust? What is the average tutoring rate for the agency\industry and how does it compare to your rate (percentages are fine)?

If you're getting paid 50% of the other tutors, I think you're fine to bring it up. If you're at 125% of the other tutors, probably not so much. If you're in line with the other tutors, but you do a better job, I think you have a reason. I still think the 'I'm busy so I need to be paid more to keep working with here' is a bad reason, as it makes you sound like your time is more valuable than other peoples, and you're not there to be a tutor.

He works directly for the parents, but his school has a min and max price that he must charge. He falls in the middle.

You can raise your rates without any issues so long as it's not too abrupt. You'll catch a bit of backlash for it but you'll recover shortly if what you're doing is still worth what they're paying.

@jmo: €2 more, yes. It's the difference between a guy filling the shelves and a 'specialist' like me (don't take that too literal..) at my age. I would still be earning one digit per hour but I would estimate that would also make me earn the most per hour of the class for example. I earn my money a couple of bucks at a time in general, but since I spend almost nothing it's still racking up fast enough that I hope to pay my study from it :-)

@awgray: abge got it right. School got me in contact with them and advises the parents and us to stay between two limits which I plan to do, but other than those limits, there's no middle man, 'rules', contracts or anything like that.

I think the other tutors are sort of following eachother so as far as I know everyone is earning the same as me. It's not exactly an open market though.

Hey Guys, i do think you take it all way to serious. Its just a student having a side job tutoring some children. So its not as formal as some people think it is.

For the people who complain about raising prises at this moment, its the start of the schooling year here in the Netherlands. Even for the real teachers at the schools this week is the starting day of their new contracts (if they are temps).

Steephie, one important question, how long have you done it for the same rate. If its just 2 months, it would be to early. If you already did it a year, you have all the right to ask a raise. At the start, you were a newby, now you have some experience. (most jobs have yearly raises in your age group).

You should have better done it two weeks ago, but now is also a good time. But i do agree, at least call them about it.

Yeah I already did it for about a year.