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Job Offer Letter and Pay Equity Check

An offer letter, call script and negotiation notes, plus sheets that check a new hire's salary against your team and price any fix.

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Pack of 7 files: 4 documents, 3 spreadsheets

Job Offer Letter and Pay Equity Check

How the Equity Check RunsDocument
Offer LetterDocument
Verbal Offer ScriptDocument
Negotiation GuidanceDocument
Offer BuildSpreadsheet
Internal Equity CheckSpreadsheet
Acceptance Rate by Offer ShapeSpreadsheet

Job Offer Letter and Pay Equity Check

Internal Equity Check, one row

Four outputs, and the last one is not a number

Run before the offer is spoken, including before it is mentioned as a range on a screening call.

Compa-Ratio

Salary divided by band midpoint, to three decimal places. This is the figure that travels between roles, because 0.915 means the same thing in two jobs with completely different bands.

Band Penetration

Salary minus the band minimum, over the band's full width. This is the figure that predicts the next three years, because somebody at 90 percent has almost no room left however good they are. Both figures every time: compa-ratio alone hides a wide band, and penetration alone cannot be compared across roles.

Incumbents Below The Offer

A count out of the total, never an average. A comparison set can have an entirely reasonable mean and still contain one person at 0.915 with six years of tenure.

Relationship To This Hire

The output that is not a number. Any incumbent below the offer who trains, onboards or supervises the person being hired, by name. This is the sentence that changes what a hiring manager wants to do, and it is invisible in every average.

Page 1 of 1199 words

How to write a job offer letter

A job offer letter puts the terms you offered a candidate in writing. A good one names the job title, manager, location and start date. Pay comes right after: base salary, the pay range for the role, any bonus or equity, and the month pay is next reviewed. It ends with benefits, the conditions the offer depends on and a reply-by date. Nothing in it should surprise a candidate who heard the offer by phone.

The letter is the last step. What matters comes first: the salary, checked against what people already doing the job earn, before anyone says a number aloud.

A woman talking on a phone at an office desk, with a laptop and papers in front of her — Make the offer by phone, with your approved numbers in front of you. Photo: Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Check the salary against your team first

Start with the pay band for the role's level: a minimum, a midpoint and a maximum. If you don't have bands yet, create salary bands first. Then list everyone already doing the job, with salary and tenure.

Decide who counts by the work, not the title. The EEOC, which enforces the US Equal Pay Act, says job content, not job titles, determines whether jobs are substantially equal¹.

Work out two figures for the offer and each person. Compa-ratio is salary divided by the band's midpoint. Band penetration is salary minus the minimum, divided by the band's width, which shows how much of the band is used up.

Then count how many current employees would earn less than the new hire, rather than averaging their pay. Name anyone in that group who will train, onboard or manage the newcomer. An average hides that person, and they matter more to a hiring manager than any ratio.

A sample check: band $78,000 to $106,000, midpoint $92,000

Person	Salary	Compa-ratio	Penetration	Note
Proposed offer	$99,500	1.082	76.8%	Hiring manager's number
Salas	$95,800	1.041	63.6%	Merit raises
Trinh	$91,300	0.992	47.5%	Onboarding buddy for this hire
Bezuidenhout	$88,000	0.957	35.7%	Standard raises
Okafor	$84,200	0.915	22.1%	Trains new planners; no recorded reason

Made-up figures from the template's sample company.

Record why each person sits where they do in the band. The Equal Pay Act permits paying men and women differently for equal work on only four grounds. They are a seniority system, a merit system, a system that measures output, and any other factor other than sex². Where nobody can give a reason, write "no recorded reason" and pass it to HR or counsel.

Build the number from the band and the work, not the candidate's pay history. California's Labor Commissioner says employers generally can't ask applicants for their salary history³, though they can ask what pay the applicant expects.

Price every fix before you make the offer

If the offer would land above people already in the job, price the fixes while the offer is still a number in a spreadsheet. Include changing nothing, and list each raise under its total so the budget owner can check it.

The sample offer's options, per year

Option	Raises	What it leaves
Offer the $92,000 midpoint	None	Three of four below the hire; $5,000 under the candidate's ask
Offer $99,500, lift the two lowest to a 0.96 compa-ratio	$4,440	Nobody under 0.96, though all four earn less than the hire
Offer $99,500, raise all four to it	$38,700	Everyone level with the hire, for nearly nine times the $4,440 fix
Offer $99,500, change nothing	None	The planner who trains new hires stays $15,300 behind the newcomer

Timing matters. Once the new hire's salary is agreed, closing a gap in practice means raising other people's pay. For a proven, unlawful sex-based pay gap, an EEOC regulation says an employer can come into compliance only by raising the wage rate of the lower paid sex⁴.

Get the chosen fix approved before the call, plus a second, higher number the recruiter can offer without asking again. A request above the band's maximum is a question about the level, not the offer: change the level and rerun the check, or let the candidate go.

Make the offer by phone first

Call before you send anything in writing. A number sent by email tends to get a counter by email, with both positions on record. Have your opening number, your approved second number and a one-sentence reason for the salary based on the band and the work.

ExampleThe first minute of an offer callAn illustrative example written for this guide

"We'd like you to join Kessler Freight as a senior logistics planner, and I'm calling with an offer."
"The base salary is $99,500, with our standard benefits, starting March 1."
"The range for this level is $78,000 to $106,000, so that puts you in the upper half."
(Then stop talking and wait.)

The decision first. The candidate can't take in anything else until they know you want them.
Where it sits. Naming the band shows the number was considered and heads off requests for room that isn't there.
The pause. Don't fill the silence by raising the offer or defending it.

When the candidate asks for more

Expect one of three answers. If the candidate needs time, agree a date and say the offer won't change in the meantime. If they hold another offer, ask about the whole package (level, scope and manager) and say where yours is stronger rather than matching by reflex.

If they hoped for more, ask whether that's a firm number or a range. Then offer cheaper terms before you touch the base salary:

A start date that suits them, which costs nothing
A one-time signing bonus, which doesn't carry into future raises
Extra paid time off, where your policy allows it
More equity, where a grant exists
A pay review on a set date, written into the letter

Move the salary once at most: go to your approved second number and say it's final, because a second move tells them a third exists. The extras count as pay too. The EEOC says the Equal Pay Act covers bonuses, stock options and vacation pay as well as salary¹, so write down why each was given.

Write the job offer letter

Write the letter after the call, from what was said. Put pay second, right after the role, because that's what the candidate is looking for. Give equity as a number of shares or options with its vesting schedule, never a dollar value.

ExampleThe opening of an offer letterAn illustrative example written for this guide

Dear Maya, we're pleased to offer you the position of senior logistics planner at Kessler Freight, reporting to Dana Ruiz, operations manager. You'll start on March 1, subject to the conditions below.
Your annual base salary will be $99,500, paid every two weeks. The salary range for this level is $78,000 to $106,000, and salaries at this level are reviewed each April.

Pay and its range. They come straight after the role, so Maya sees at once where her offer sits.
A review month. "Reviewed annually" can sound like her start-date anniversary. Naming April avoids that.

Keep the conditions short and specific. If a screening company runs the background check, the FTC says you must tell the candidate in a stand-alone written notice⁵ and get their written permission first. Before you withdraw an offer because of the report, send them a copy of it and a summary of their rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

When to involve an employment lawyer

Have a lawyer review your letter template for each state you hire in, since at-will wording and required statements vary. Ask too about bonus repayment terms and any gap marked "no recorded reason." This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Before you send the letter

The salary was checked against everyone doing the same work
Any raise it needs is approved by a named person
Every figure matches what you said on the call
The pay range, review month and equity count are stated
A reply-by date and a named contact are included

Log every offer and its answer

When the candidate answers, log the offer the same day: its compa-ratio, any counter, the final number, the outcome and days to an answer. In the template's made-up sample of 16 offers, every one above the band midpoint was accepted, but only 6 of 11 at or below it.

Once someone accepts, tell the other finalists with a candidate rejection email, and plan the new hire's first weeks with a 30-60-90 day onboarding plan. If you open the template on this page with Edit with AI, River runs the salary check and prices the fixes before it drafts the script or the letter.

How to use this template

Use the files as they are, or open them in River. River asks for the pay band, what everyone in the job earns now and what the candidate has said about money. It never asks what the candidate earns today. Then it runs the salary check, leading with anyone below the offer who will train, onboard or manage the new hire.

Next it prices each way to close a gap, including changing nothing. It drafts the call script and the letter only after you pick an option and its cost is approved. Where someone's place in the band has no written reason, River says so and leaves the judgment to HR or counsel.

Download it or open it in River
Get the four Word documents and three CSV sheets free, or open the template in River and work through it with AI.
Add the band and salaries
Enter the pay range for the level and what each person in the job earns, with tenure and last review date.
Choose and approve a fix
Compare the priced options, including changing nothing, then get the cost approved along with a second number for the call.
Call first, then send the letter
Use the script on the phone, send a letter that matches what you said, and log the outcome the same day.

What's in the template

Person	Salary	Compa	Penetration	Tenure	Relationship to this hire	Recorded reason for position in band
Proposed offer	99,500	1.082	76.8%	n/a	n/a	Hiring manager's opening number
Salas	95,800	1.041	63.6%	3.2 yrs	none	Merit, three exceeds ratings
Trinh	91,300	0.992	47.5%	5.0 yrs	named onboarding buddy, REQ-2071	Merit. Declined a lead role in 2024
Bezuidenhout	88,000	0.957	35.7%	2.4 yrs	none	Hired at 86,000, standard cycle since
Okafor	84,200	0.915	22.1%	6.1 yrs	trains new planners	no recorded reason
Four of four incumbents below the offer. Two carry a named relationship to the hire. One row has no reason in writing for where it sits in the band.

Option	Base	Compa	Gap to candidate	Below offer	Below 0.96	Correction per year	Year one vs option A	Verdict
A. Offer the midpoint	92,000	1.000	-5,000	3 of 4	2 of 4	0	0	Cheapest, least likely accepted
B. Offer 99,500 and lift the two lowest to 0.96	99,500	1.082	+2,500	4 of 4	0 of 4	4,440	11,940	Recommended
C. Offer 99,500 and level everybody to it	99,500	1.082	+2,500	0 of 4	0 of 4	38,700	46,200	Also resets what the band means
D. Offer 99,500 and correct nothing	99,500	1.082	+2,500	4 of 4	2 of 4	0	7,500	Correction survives, upward only
E. Offer above the band maximum	106,500	1.158	+9,500	4 of 4	2 of 4	0	14,500	Refused. A level decision
Option B detail. The 0.96 floor is 88,320. Okafor 84,200 to 88,320 is 4,120. Bezuidenhout 88,000 to 88,320 is 320. Correction 4,440. Option C detail. 15,300 plus 11,500 plus 8,200 plus 3,700 equals 38,700.

Offer	Role	Opening	Compa	Shape	Countered	Final	Outcome	Days to answer
O-102	Sr Logistics Planner	89,000	0.967	at or below mid	95,000 asked	92,000	accepted	6
O-103	Sr Logistics Planner	88,500	0.962	at or below mid	98,000 asked	88,500	declined	9
O-105	Logistics Planner	71,000	0.947	at or below mid	80,000 asked	74,000	declined	11
O-108	Dispatch Supervisor	79,500	0.946	at or below mid	85,000 asked	79,500	declined	14
O-110	Sr Logistics Planner	91,500	0.995	at or below mid	96,000 asked	91,500	declined	12
O-112	Sr Logistics Planner	97,000	1.054	above mid	no	97,000	accepted	1
O-113	Dispatch Supervisor	88,000	1.048	above mid	no	88,000	accepted	2
O-114	Logistics Planner	79,900	1.065	above mid	no	79,900	accepted	1
O-116	Sr Logistics Planner	98,500	1.071	above mid	no	98,500	accepted	2
At or below midpoint: 6 accepted of 11, 54.5%, 7 of 11 countered, median 6 days to an answer. Above midpoint: 5 of 5, 100%, none countered, median 2 days. All sixteen: 11 of 16, 68.8%.

Offer LetterThe letter, with pay right after the role, plus notes on the fields people get wrong.
Verbal Offer ScriptWhat to say on the offer call, and how to answer the three usual replies.
Negotiation GuidanceWhat to trade first when a candidate asks for more, from cheapest to most expensive.
How the Equity Check RunsHow to work out compa-ratio and band penetration, and whose pay to compare.
Internal Equity Check sheetThe offer beside everyone in the job: both ratios, tenure, who trains the hire and the reason for each salary.
Offer Build sheetEvery option priced per year, including changing nothing, with each raise listed under its total.
Acceptance Rate by Offer Shape sheetEvery offer you make: its compa-ratio, any counter, the outcome and days to an answer.

Common questions

What should a job offer letter include?

A job offer letter should include the job title, manager, location and start date, then the base salary, pay range, any bonus, equity or signing payment, and benefits. It should also list any conditions, such as a background check, and give a reply-by date and a named contact. Put pay straight after the role, and state equity as a share count, not a dollar value.

Should you make a job offer by phone or by email?

Make it by phone first, then put it in writing. A call lets you give the decision, the salary and where it sits in the range, then hear how the candidate reacts and answer their questions. Send the letter afterward, and check that every figure in it matches what you said.

Should an offer letter include the salary range?

Yes. It shows the candidate where the offer sits and how much room the band leaves, so they don't learn the range from a colleague later. California, for example, requires employers to give applicants the pay scale on reasonable request, and employers with 15 or more employees must include it in every job posting.

Can you ask a candidate what they earn now?

It depends on where you hire, because some US states and cities ban the question. California, for example, generally bars employers from asking applicants about their salary history, though they may ask what pay the applicant expects. Even where asking is legal, an offer built on someone's last salary can carry an old pay gap onto your team.

What is a compa-ratio?

A compa-ratio is a salary divided by the midpoint of its pay band. A $99,500 offer in a band with a $92,000 midpoint has a compa-ratio of 1.082, about 8% above the middle. It lets you compare people in different bands, but it doesn't show how close someone is to the top, so pair it with band penetration.

Is this job offer letter template free?

Yes. Download the four Word documents and three CSV sheets with no signup. The sheets come filled in for a made-up freight company, so you can see the salary check and priced options at work before clearing them. Edit with AI opens the same template in a free River workspace.

What does Edit with AI do?

It opens the template in a free River workspace. River asks for the pay band, current salaries for everyone in the job and what the candidate has said about money, but never what the candidate earns now. It runs the salary check and prices each fix, then drafts the call script and letter once you've chosen an option and its cost is approved.

Sources

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “Equal Pay/Compensation Discrimination.” eeoc.gov (opens in a new tab)
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “Equal Pay Act of 1963.” eeoc.gov (opens in a new tab)
California DIR. “California Equal Pay Act.” dir.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)
eCFR. “29 CFR 1620.25 — Equalization of rates.” ecfr.gov (opens in a new tab)
FTC. “Using Consumer Reports: What Employers Need to Know.” ftc.gov (opens in a new tab)

Written by

Chandler Supple

Co-founder & CEO, River

Chandler has spent the last six years working in AI, building tools for millions of users and Fortune 100 companies. In 2025, he co-founded River to build a new kind of operating system for AI agents.

LinkedIn GitHub X

Reviewed by

Brian Joseff, Co-founder, River

LinkedIn X

Job Offer Letter and Pay Equity Check

Four outputs, and the last one is not a number

Compa-Ratio

Band Penetration

Incumbents Below The Offer

Relationship To This Hire

How to write a job offer letter

Check the salary against your team first

Price every fix before you make the offer

Make the offer by phone first

When the candidate asks for more

Write the job offer letter

Log every offer and its answer

How to use this template

Download it or open it in River

Add the band and salaries

Choose and approve a fix

Call first, then send the letter

What's in the template

Internal Equity Check

Offer Build

Acceptance Rate by Offer Shape

Common questions

Sources

Chandler Supple

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