Hellobee Boards

Did he request the transfer or did the company ask him to relocate? I think he's going to have more ground to stand on if the company initiated the transfer.

This should be negotiated with his new boss. HR is the department communicating the offer, but his new boss is the one deciding the department budget for the transfer. I suggest that he calls his boss and explains rationally how he's done all the research and both taxes and housing are much higher in the new city so to him even staying at the same salary would be a paycut. It should be presented in a "I know you may not be able to, but please consider my request" fashion. Be careful, because he shouldn't appear ungrateful or like he's not excited to be taking the new job. And there should be clear, consise tangible reasons he's able to give for his request.

But it doesn't seem like his company makes exceptions, so be prepared to get a no. It's not the end of the world if they say no, so don't be too upset. At least he's made it clear early on that he views his salary as being too low, so if he performs well at raise and bonus time they have the opportunity to take care of him. If they don't, it's time to start looking for a new job (assuming he's unhappy there otherwise), but a good boss will use that opportunity to make a good employee happy.

@Bee-Anonymous, I still think he should bring it up with his boss. Even if it's ultimately up to HR, it's his boss that would be the one to make the request or 'push' in order to bump up the offering salary. He should at least make sure that his request is heard by the right audience. It wouldn't hurt for him to mention that this was never explained to him before he already started transitioning and it's something he should have been able to consider before making the decision. There's no guarantee that he'll get promoted (unless it's stated in a contract) so he should try to get it now, before the move is finalized if at all possible.

I have to agree with MsLipGloss that is really was your husband's responsibility to get all the information regarding any changes that would be part of the transfer at the time he made the request. And certainly before he began the transition process. Since this wasn't something the company asked him to do, they are unlikely to be very flexible on what seems like a hard rule they have in place.

@Bee: Are there other employees at the new location in the same job/ position? I ask because if that's the case, chances are they started or made the same salary as your hubs would post-transfer, and your hubs would have to be able to distinguish himself/ his accomplishments in order to merit the salary increase.

For me, arguing that local rent prices, etc. are the bases for maintaining his salary would only tell me (as an employer) that he failed to do his due diligence (,i.e., homework) as an employee, and that he pulled the trigger before properly identifying and classifying his target. Not exactly the message you want to send to your new boss. I would instead have him focus more on what he brings to the company and how he personally adds value, rather than arguing local economics.

As they say, the devil is in the details.

I worked for a company where I did an internal transfer. The company raised my salary as a cost of living adjustment and it was stated so in my written contract.

Was there a contract of any sort in this case? It has been my experience, though, that if a company has rules like this, they do not break them for lower level employees. For C-levels, yes, but not entry level.