Pay & Negotiation · UK 2026
How to decline a counter-offer professionally
Time
15 mins
Difficulty
Easy
Steps
7
70-80% of candidates who accept counter-offers leave within 12 months anyway. The reasons you wanted to leave usually weren't pay, and a salary patch doesn't fix them. Here is how to decline professionally.
Step-by-step
- 1
Take 24 hours to think
"Thank you for the counter, I appreciate the gesture. I want to take 24 hours to think about it carefully and come back to you." Don't accept on the call. Don't reject on the call. The cooling-off period removes the pressure of in-the-moment decision-making.
- 2
Examine why you were leaving
List the actual reasons you started looking. Pay, sure — but probably also: progression, manager, team, scope, work-life balance, company direction, role itself. The counter-offer addresses pay. Does it address the other items? In most cases, no.
- 3
Stick with your decision unless the counter materially changes the situation
Genuinely fixing the underlying issue (e.g. you only started looking because of one specific issue and the counter genuinely fixes it) is a legitimate reason to stay. A higher salary alone is rarely enough — six months later you'll still be working for the same manager on the same scope.
- 4
Schedule a brief conversation
In person or video, 15 minutes. "I'd like to talk about the counter-offer." Don't decline by email — the manager invested time in extending the counter, and the polite version is a real conversation.
- 5
Decline in two sentences
"I appreciate the offer, but I've made my decision. The new role is the right move for where I want to take my career, and I'd like to leave on good terms with a clean handover." Direct. No long explanation. No apologies. No criticism of the current employer.
- 6
Don't get drawn into the "what could we have done" conversation
"I appreciate the question, but I've made my decision and I'd rather focus on a clean handover." This is the line. Repeat it if needed. Don't list grievances. Don't explain why the new role is better. Don't discuss what the manager could have done differently.
- 7
Continue the resignation process as planned
Confirm your last day. Hand over the transition plan you've already prepared. Work the notice period professionally. The counter-offer is a 24-hour detour, not a reset of the resignation. Continue the exit as if it never happened.
Common mistakes to avoid
- ✗Accepting the counter — 70-80% leave within 12 months anyway, often pushed out.
- ✗Listing every grievance when explaining the decline — burns the bridge and damages the reference.
- ✗Negotiating against the counter ('would you go higher?') — turns a clean exit into a transactional mess.
- ✗Letting the manager re-frame the decision ('let me get HR to put together a real package') — extends the conversation; just hold the line.
- ✗Apologising for the decision — converts a confident exit into a guilty one.
Recruiter pro tip
The counter-offer often comes in two waves. The first is the immediate panic offer (15-25% pay rise within 48 hours). If you decline that, sometimes a second wave arrives 1-2 weeks later with a more structured proposal — new title, role expansion, written commitments. Be prepared to decline both. The reasons you were leaving don't change because the counter got bigger.