So I got an interesting offer from a company back in 2015 that I accepted. According to the offer letter I was to get raises every six months. Quoting it,
If you choose to make a five year commitment to our organization, we can offer you semi-annual raises starting in December of 2015 which will be as follows:
- $80,000.00 December 2015,
- $85,000.00 June 2016,
- $90,000.00 December 2016,
- $95,000.00 June 2017,
- $100,000.00 December 2017,
- $105,000.00 June 2018,
- $115,000.00 December 2018,
- $120,000.00 June 2019.
The CEO that made that offer letter has since left but I'm still there. The old CEO was employed by the owner but the new CEO actually is the owner. He just decided that he needed to run things himself so he let the old CEO go.
With the old CEO the raises were automatic but with this new CEO, the accounting department wanted to get his permission before bumping my pay. It's my understanding they emailed him and never got a response. I emailed the CEO as well and never got a response.
He's been in the office a few times but the past few times he's been in the office he's been quite angry. He's let other people go since taking charge, demoted others, and has said such things, in emails, as "anyone who wastes everyones time this year making things take forever and be more complex and disorganized will be replaced". With his attitude I've been reluctant to actually talk to him about it in-person, but, none-the-less, my offer letter says what it says and I'm a little pissed off that the raise that was promised to me was not given.
I realize that leaving and taking another job is an option but the concern I have is that if I leave I'll take a pay cut. No other job will pay as well as this one currently does. But, if I stay, I'm just setting myself up for abuse since I've basically accepted that the promises made to me in the offer letter are null and void.
In my mind, if the offer letter is null and void, I ought to be presented with a new "offer letter", as such, so that I might know what I can expect from this new CEO, but that hasn't happened either.
My question is this: what is the best way to approach the CEO on this matter?