Should You Accept a Counteroffer?

You’ve resigned.

Suddenly your employer has found more money. Or a promotion. Or flexibility. Or a promise that the thing that’s been annoying you for the last two years is finally going to change.

The standard advice is “never accept a counteroffer.”

I don’t agree.

Sometimes accepting one makes perfect sense. The important bit is understanding whether your particular counteroffer actually fixes the reason you wanted to leave.

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Extra money can make the original problem easy to forget

Imagine you started looking because you hated the culture, couldn’t see any progression and were fed up with your manager.

Then you resign and your employer offers you another £10,000.

That’s a meaningful amount of money.

But your manager is still your manager on Monday morning.

The question isn’t simply “Is this a good counteroffer?” It’s “Does staying now make more sense than leaving?”

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What you’ll learn

By the end of the guide, you’ll know how to:

• Go back to the original reasons you wanted to leave.
• Understand why your employer may be making the counteroffer.
• Separate what the offer genuinely fixes from what it doesn’t.
• Assess promises about future promotions or changes.
• Think about the implications for future pay and progression.
• Compare the counteroffer properly with the external opportunity.
• Know what to ask before accepting anything.
• Make the decision without relying on blanket counteroffer rules.

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Counteroffers aren’t automatically good or bad

Employers make counteroffers for all sorts of reasons.

Sometimes replacing you would be expensive and inconvenient. Sometimes they genuinely value you and hadn’t realised you were unhappy. Sometimes your resignation creates leverage that didn’t exist before.

The guide helps you understand those possibilities without automatically assuming your employer is either desperate to keep you forever or secretly plotting to replace you next Tuesday.

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Written by Lee Harding

I’ve spent 20+ years working in recruitment, Talent Acquisition and leadership, including senior and Director-level roles.

My advice comes from years spent on the other side of workplace decisions – hiring people, managing teams and working closely with managers and senior leaders.

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Decide based on your situation

Forget the blanket rule.

Work out what changed, what didn’t and which option now gives you the better outcome.

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This is one of 15 practical guides covering the career problems most of us eventually run into — from pay rises and promotions to difficult managers, career changes, redundancy and starting a new job.

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