I live in the UK and last December I've gotten a promotion that was WAY overdue, and got a 10% payraise to accompany it; I went from 30k to 33k and am therefor sitting on the national avarage.
I live alone with my two cats and with the entire rent crisis going on, my rent has increased twice of the past year from £700 to £850 a month for a one bed apartment that's less that 300sq/ft.
In September we always get adjusted wages for inflations, which so far my company has been really trying it's best to accomodate the lower wages first so I commend them on that, but because I got promoted in December I am now being skipped over the anual wage reviews.
Honestly, I thought my boss was joking as he said it in a very light hearted way, but he was not. I told him that I understood their reasoning, but that their reasoning is flawed. A wage review to match inflation does not equal a promotion or visa versa. Because if we follow that logic I now have to have a wage review in December or am stuck with the same wage longer than my colleagues do.
So far opinions are mixed. People say it's greedy whilst others agree that the two aren't mutually exclusive.